Playing with the Beat
Put your mouth over the middle (holes number 4, 5, and 6) of the harmonica, and continue to tap your foot steadily. Send a short exhaled breath of air through the harp, once for each count of "one", "two", "three", and "four". You may find it easier to whisper the words "one", "two", "three", and "four" right through the holes. Don’t say the words aloud, or the vocal noise will obscure the harmonica sound. You will probably find that you run out of air in short order, so drop the "four" as you did in the last exercise. In the place of actually saying the "four", use that time to swing the harmonica a fraction of an inch away from your lower lip, while keeping it in position against your upper lip, and breathe in. Return the harmonica to its original position in time for the next "one" beat.
For now, don’t inhale back through the harmonica on the count of "four", instead, remain silent during that beat. This is indicated by placing the (inhale) in parentheses. Play the following two bars now.
Now, for variety, rather than using three or four separate breaths of air to create three or four distinct sounds, try exhaling one long, steady breath through the harmonica that lasts all during the "one", "two", and "three" before inhaling silently during the count of "four". Remember to tap your foot steadily, and think the numbers "one", "two", "three", and "four" silently to yourself while playing.
Try breathing back in through the harmonica this time, on the "four" tap of each rhythm pattern. Use separate exhaled breaths of air for the "one", "two", and "three" taps. Keep tapping out a steady beat with your foot, and try all of these breathing exercises on the low and high-end holes as well as the middle.
Staccato Effects: Puffing and Tonguing
The musical term "staccato" (from the Italian word for "detached") refers to notes that are clear and separate from each other. The ability to obtain clear, separate notes is crucial to blues harmonica playing.
There are two ways to break up the airstream coming from your lungs into the harmonica so that it can be used to form a series of clear, distinct sounds. You can send separate short, exhaled puffs of air through the harmonica, as though you were trying to blowout a match sharply. Or you can use your tongue to break up the airstream, as you did when saying "one", "two", and "three" through the harp.
In general, tonguing is a more effective and versatile way to create separate sounds, so make sure that you practice it. Rather than saying "one", "two", or "three", try saying "ta-ta-ta" through the harmonica. Experiment with different sounds. You’ll find that "cha-cha-cha" will produce a sound quite different from "da-da-da", "ba-ba-ba", "la-la-la", or "ka-ka-ka", as slightly different movements of the tongue are required to produce each syllable. Most harmonicists find "da", "ka", and "ta" sounds to be the easiest to use.
Blues music tends to utilize more inhaled notes than exhaled, so these beginning inhale exercises are of prime importance to the would-be blues wailer. Tap your foot, and breathe in (nose closed) with your mouth covering the middle holes of the harmonica. Inhale during the 1, 2, and 3 counts, then swivel the harmonica a fraction of an inch away from your lower lip to exhale during the "four" count.
When Exercise A feels comfortable, try Exercise B by taking a separate short inhale puff for each "one", "two", and "three" count, plus a silent "four" during which to exhale. Then try Exercise C by tonguing "da-ta-da" or "ta-ta-ta" while inhaling to form separate sounds. The sharper and clearer you can make each note, the better.
Vary the above with Exercise D by exhaling through the harmonica on the "four" beat. You may find that you need to make the one exhaled beat somewhat louder than the three inhaled beats, in order to rid yourself of excess air.
Tonguing on the inhale is somewhat harder than tonguing on the exhale, since exhale tonguing is much more similar to what we normally do when speaking. But our tongues are quick learners, and a few moments of slow, patient practice here will work wonders. Feel free to practice inhaling "da-ta-da" or "ta-ta-ta" without your harmonica for a bit, if that seems easier.
Two Points On Inhaled Notes:
There are two points that are essential to obtaining clear inhaled notes on the harmonica. You must breathe through the mouth only, and you must begin any exhaled exercise with sufficient air in the lungs.
A Critical Note About Tone
Whenever possible while playing, keep the musculature of your mouth and throat as relaxed and opened up inside as is possible, for better tone.
This will make a tremendous difference to your playing, and cannot be overemphasized, so try to remember this important point, even though at first it will be difficult to relax while attempting to master a variety of new harmonica skills.
