Approach To Practice
Regardless of the style of music you play, it is important to have a correct approach to practice. You will benefit more from several short practices (e.g., 20-30 minutes per day) than one or two long sessions per week. This is especially so in the early stages, because of the basic nature of the material being studied and also because your lips and facial muscles are still developing.
If you want to become a great player you will obviously have to practice more as time goes on, but it is still better to work on new things a bit at a time. Get one small piece of information and learn it well before going on to the next topic. Make sure each new thing you learn is thoroughly worked into your playing. This way you won’t forget it, and you can build on everything you learn.
In a practice session you should divide your time evenly between the study of new material and the revision of past work. You should also try to correct mistakes and experiment with new ideas. It is the author’s belief that the guidance of an experienced teacher will be an invaluable aid in your progress. To develop a good time feel, it is essential that you always practice with a metronome (or drum machine).
For more Blues books and recordings by the author, visit: www.petergelling.com
Listening
Apart from books, your most important source of information will be recordings. Listen to albums which feature harp players. Some important players to look out for are: Sonny Terry, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Junior Wells, Big Walter Horton, Billy Branch, Paul Butterfield, Snooky Pryor, Charlie Musselwhite and Rod Piazza.
There are also numerous great Jazz and Blues sax players who are worth checking out. Little Walter got a lot of his ideas from listening to sax players. Some of the most Bluesy sax players are: Maceo Parker and Pee Wee Ellis (solo or with James Brown), King Curtis, Junior Walker, Fathead Newman, A.C. Reed, Eddie Shaw, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Scott Page, Illinois Jacquet, Stanley Turrentine, Eddie Harris, Ben Webster, Johnny Hodges, and Roland Kirk who often played two saxophones at a time!
Guitar Players are another good source of ideas. Listen to the guitarist on any Blues album and you will hear note bending, slides, grace notes and other techniques which are equally effective on the harmonica. Some guitarists to look out for are BB King, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy (with Junior Wells or solo), Magic Sam, Lightnin’ Hopkins and Albert Collins along with Robert Junior Lockwood and Luther Tucker who can both be found on albums by Sonny Boy Williamson.
When you are listening to albums, try to sing along with the solos and visualize which holes you would play and the techniques you would use to achieve the sounds you are hearing. This helps you absorb the music and before long, it starts to come out in your own playing. It is also valuable to play along with albums, sometimes imitating what you are hearing and other times improvising. This is very good ear training and is also a lot of fun.
Amplification
When playing with a band, it is often necessary to amplify your harmonica. This can be done by using a harmonica microphone such as a Shure "green bullet" and plugging it into an amplifier (usually a guitar amplifier), or by playing directly into a vocal microphone through a PA system. It takes practice to play well with amplification, so if possible it is best to rehearse regularly with your amplified sound before playing live.
