Scales, and what they're for
Not drills for their own sake. Knowing the ground under your feet so you can hear where a phrase is going before you play it.
Private lessons · online or in Sonoma County
How I Teach Blues Harmonica
Most people practice alone, get to a certain point, and stall there. I don't teach you more licks. I teach you where you are on the instrument, so you stop being a passenger on it.
Licks run out. Scales don't.
Almost everyone learns this instrument the same way: by collecting. A lick off a record, a lick off a video, a turnaround somebody showed you at a jam. It works, for a while. It got me a long way too.
The trouble is a collection is finite, and you can hear the edges of it. When you don't know what's underneath the phrases, you can only ever rearrange the ones you've got.
Going back and doing the work on the scales is what took the lid off.
What we actually work on
In whatever order your playing needs it.
The sound before the notes
Your tone is the thing people actually hear. It's worth the time it takes, and most players never give it any.
Bending on purpose
Not just getting the note down, but knowing what you're bending to and why it works there.
Playing with other people
Knowing when to play and when to lay out. Hearing the change coming. Finding the right key harp for the song. This is where all of it is going.
Where it goes
The point isn't the practice room
Everything we work on is pointed at the same place: being able to sit down with other musicians and hold your end up. Knowing the ground under a tune is what makes that possible.
That's the part nobody can hand you a lick for.
Online harmonica lessons over Zoom
Most of my students learn this way now, from all over.
Harmonica suits it
I need to hear your tone and see your hands. A laptop camera gives me both — there's no big instrument to angle and no room to mic up.
Not much
The harps you already play, a laptop or tablet with Zoom, and somewhere you don't mind making noise.
Forestville, California
An easy drive from Sebastopol, Santa Rosa, Guerneville, Healdsburg and the rest of Sonoma County.
Who I'm looking to work with
Private slots are limited, so I'd rather be straight about it.
- You play regularly and you've stopped getting better
- You played years ago and let it go
- That harp has been sitting in a drawer waiting for you
- Everything you play comes out of the same handful of licks
- You're willing to do work that isn't flashy
- Absolute beginnersNothing wrong with starting out — it just isn't what this is for. Start in a group. Camps and workshops.
- Anyone who needs one song for a wedding next monthThat's a job for a tab sheet and two weeks, not for lessons.
- Anyone after a library of licks to copyThere's a lot of that online already, and it's the thing that got you stuck.
Questions
Do I need to read music for this?
No. Knowing where you are on the harp and reading notation off a page are two different skills, and only the first one is what we're after.
What if I can't bend properly yet?
Then we fix that, because it's load-bearing for everything after it. Plenty of players have been faking a bend for years without knowing it — that's a normal place to start.
How long does this take?
Depends what you put in between lessons. The honest answer is that the wall usually comes down sooner than people expect, and then the real work starts and never really stops. That's the good part.
Do online lessons actually work for this?
They do. I need to hear your tone and see your hands, and a laptop gives me both. Most of my students are online now, well outside Sonoma County.
What do lessons cost?
We talk about it on the call, once I know what you're trying to do. I'd rather tell you honestly whether I'm the right person than have you pick off a price list.
What do I need to have?
The harps you already play, somewhere you don't mind making noise, and a bit of patience for work that isn't flashy.
Tell me where it stopped moving
Send me a note about what you play, how long you've been at it, and where it quit getting better.