Harmonica Man

I'm re-gaining interest in playing the harmonica. I've owned a Hohner 1896/20 in the key of G for some fifteen years, sitting in my desk drawer only to be played once every few years. But thanks to the internet I've been taking lessons the last few days, learning that everything I thought I knew about harmonica playing was basically wrong.

Fortunately, diatonic harmonicas are easy to learn and a pleasure to play. Some say that there is a 10-hour rule: after ten hours of playing, you've learned the majority of everything there is to learn – it's that simple. My technique was pretty far off base, and that hurts the quality of my playing right now, but I can play just about any song if I have tabbed music.

I'm so encouraged that today I found a second harmonica like my Hohner but in the key of C for a good price and bought it.