Blues Harmonica For Dummies

Breathe the blues into your harmonica!

Blues harmonica is the most popular and influential style of harmonica playing, and it forms the basis for playing harmonica in other styles such as rock and country. Blues Harmonica for Dummies gives you a wealth of content devoted to the blues approach—specific techniques and applications, including bending and making your notes sound richer and fuller with tongue-blocked enhancements; use of amplification to develop a blues sound; blues licks and riffs; constructing a blues harmonica solo; accompanying singers; historical development of blues styles; and important blues players and recordings.

The accompanying website features all the musical examples from the book, plus play-along exercises and songs that let you hear the sound you're striving for.

• In-depth coverage of major blues harmonica techniques
• Blues song forms, improvisation, and accompanying singers
• Information on blues history and personalities

If you're intrigued by the idea of understanding and mastering the compelling (yet mysterious) art of playing blues on the harmonica, Blues Harmonica For Dummies has you covered.

P.S. If you think this book seems familiar, you're probably right. The Dummies team updated the cover and design to give the book a fresh feel, but the content is the same as the previous release of Blues Harmonica For Dummies (9781118252697). The book you see here shouldn't be considered a new or updated product. But if you're in the mood to learn something new, check out some of our other books. We're always writing about new topics!

Introduction 1

Part 1: So You Wanna Play Blues Harmonica? 7

Chapter 1: Connecting with the Blues 9

Chapter 2: Getting Your Harmonicas Together 17

Chapter 3: Deciphering the Code: A Blues Guide to Music Symbols 31

Part 2: Doin’ the Crawl: Your First Harmonica Moves 55

Chapter 4: Breathing Life into the Harmonica 57

Chapter 5: Moving Around with Single Notes 73

Chapter 6: Creating Blues Harmonica Licks and Riffs 85

Chapter 7: Progressing Through the 12-Bar Blues 97

Part 3: Beyond the Basics: Getting Bluesy 119

Chapter 8: Working with the Low and High Registers of the Harmonica 121

Chapter 9: Modulating and Punctuating Your Sound 133

Chapter 10: Enriching Your Sound with Textures 145

Chapter 11: Bending Notes: A Classic Part of the Blues Sound 163

Part 4: Developing Your Style 201

Chapter 12: Playing in Different Keys on a Single Harmonica 203

Chapter 13: Working Your Blues Chops in First Position 211

Chapter 14: Accelerating the Blues with Third Position 223

Chapter 15: Playing Blues Chromatic Harmonica in Third and First Positions 235

Chapter 16: Playing Blues in Minor Keys 251

Chapter 17: Groovin’ with Non-12-Bar Blues 263

Part 5: Taking It to the Streets: Sharing Your Music 273

Chapter 18: Developing Your Blues Repertoire 275

Chapter 19: Blues Harmonica Amplification: Making a Big Noise with a Tiny Little Thang 289

Part 6: The Part of Tens 307

Chapter 20: Ten Things to Know about Sharing Your Music with Others 309

Chapter 21: Ten Important Periods and Styles in Blues Harmonica History 321

Part 7: Appendixes 331

Appendix A: Tuning Layouts for All Keys 333

Appendix B: About the Website 339

Index 347

Winslow Yerxa is a widely known and respected harmonica player, teacher, and author. He has written, produced, and starred in many harmonica book and video projects, and provides harmonica instruction worldwide. In addition to teaching privately, he currently teaches at the Jazzschool in Berkeley, California.

• Breathe the blues into your harmonica
• Learn about bending, tongue blocking, and chordal rhythm
• Connect with blues history and the major players

The fun and easy way to play blues harmonica

Blues Harmonica For Dummies gives you a wealth of guidance on playing harmonica in the style of the blues masters. Learn how to go from playing easy chords to strong single notes — and then to 12-bar blues. Develop your personal style and put together a repertoire of tunes to play for an audience. Explore specific techniques and applications, including bending and making your notes sound richer and fuller; using amplification; developing blues licks and riffs; performing a blues harmonica solo like a pro; and much more.

Inside...

• A review of the blues as a musical style
• What it takes to get started
• A blues guide to music symbols
• Ways to shape, color, and punctuate your blues sound
• How to amplify your playing
• Important blues players and recordings