Chords for Step by Step Harmonica Lessons - Lesson 1.

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[G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Em] _
_ Hey, [Eb] welcome to the step by step harmonica course.
_ Today we're [Eb] starting right at the beginning with how to hold the harmonica, _ how to play
[Abm] single notes and then we're going to get a breathing [G] thing called the train happening.
So holding the harmonica, pretty easy.
Make a gun shape with your left hand, if you're right handed, you use your left hand to hold the harmonica.
[Db] _ Then turn that upside down, _ _ _ _ _ _ place the [Eb] harmonica on your thumb with the numbers up to the top.
So the numbers are facing the roof [Bb] and then put that other finger across the top there _ _
and you have it.
Alright, I also pop out the harmonica just on the top of my pad, [A] my hand there, _ so that
you can [Gb] really, really get at this harp.
You [Bbm] want to be able to put your mouth all the way over there and get stuck [G] into it.
Alright, so _ gun shape, turn it upside down, harmonica in, _ _ there you have it.
Your right hand can be used to cup the back or hold a microphone.
_ _ I'm not so worried about what you do with that yet in this first lesson, but always
hold the harmonica like that.
Okay?
_ _ _ [Bb] _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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_ [N] _ _ _ _ Okay, now before you can do this bluesy stuff, country stuff, the bending and all of that
cool stuff, _ you need to be able to play a single note really well.
You can't bend [Abm] properly until you do, [G] so that's why we're starting there.
[F] Now I recommend the puckering technique and this course is going to start [G] out with that particular [Db] technique.
[B] Okay, now to do it, [G] _ well there's a loud truck outside.
To do it, we take our mouth all the way over the harmonica like we're eating a sandwich.
And actually one of the nicknames for these things is tin sandwich.
So we're going to put this [F] in our mouth and then create a pucker shape with our lips to
pull our lips around a single hole.
So I'll give you a quick demonstration actually, I'll put the tin sandwich in my mouth and
create this pucker.
Okay. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
I'll do it again. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Eb] _ _ Okay, that's it.
Key to remember, your lips are over the harmonica a long way and the wet part of your lips there
is in contact and making the seal around the harp.
_ [Fm] Alright, so do that random places on the harmonica.
I'll show you the four hole, you might want to start [Cm] there.
This is a four blow. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [N] _ Alright pause it, go back if you need to grab that.
_ But just start random places, get a good single note and then breathe in.
So first blow, then breathe in.
Once you can do that all over the harmonica, then you'll be ready for the next lesson.
_ One thing also to notice down low, you need to really be relaxed.
You don't want to constrict your throat or [G] do anything like that.
You want to be real relaxed to get a good clean note.
Alright, [Ab] some people have [E] problems down there on the two and the three, they feel like it's broken.
It's not, just keep persisting [G] and you'll get it.
Just be nice and relaxed like this.
[E] _ _ _
[G] _ _ _ [Db] _ _ _ _
That's [E] the two hole.
_ _ [Db] _ _ _ _
[D] _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [N] _ Alright, so _ I'd say ten minutes a day on that.
Single notes, random places around the harmonica.
_ Okay.
This third thing I'm going to show you is called the train. _
And it's called the train.
_ _ And it really is great, great exercise [G] for your diaphragm and your lungs.
And gets you breathing and really helps you with your harmonica playing in general.
I'll show you how it sounds. _ _ _ _ _
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_ [G] _ _ _ [N] _ _ _
Alright I started that nice and slow and then I sped it up.
Now when you're doing this for the first time, you might want to just stay in the slow speed
for a while, for a week or until it's real comfortable [Gb] and then speed up gradually.
_ That [Bb] will help your lungs a lot.
Start where you're comfortable and then speed up.
Alright, now to do it, we breathe in [C] through the first three holes.
One two [F] three, down near the pad of your hand.
_ [G] And we say ah tick ah. _
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_ Without the harp, it sounds like this. _ _
_ _ _ And then we breathe out.
So it's ah tick ah in and then a breath out.
Ah tick ah. _ _
_ _ [C] _ _ [Eb] _ _ And when you breathe out, you can relax your lips to let more air out over the harmonica.
Otherwise you might fill up with air, take in too much.
So you want air coming in and air coming out of equal volume.
_ [G] Alright, I'll show you it again.
_ _ _ [C] _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ _ [C] _ _ [Ab] _ _
Pretty simple.
Great exercise [Gb] once you get that going for a minute.
Even at that speed is good.
And then [G] after a little while, you can get it up to speed again. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [C] _ _ [N] _ _
However, don't go too fast before you're ready.
Otherwise, you're not actually helping yourself out.
Alright, that's it for today.
We got how to hold the harmonica, single note technique or puckering and the train.
Once all of those things are easy, boring, you got it under control, _ probably two weeks
I'm estimating, _ come back [G] and I'll have the second part of this ten part series of Beginner's
Harp ready for you to check out.
Okay, see you then.
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