Learn to play HARMONICA, the easiest instrument to pick up!
What you'll learn
- how to play the 12 bar blues, chords, rhythms, tone and chugging
- how to breathe properly, use straight and swing rhythms
- how to play single notes with pucker and tongue-blocked embouchures
- scales, modes and positions, single/double/triple tonguing
- how to use major and minor pentatonic scales for improvising and soloing
- how to bend notes, use the hands properly, different types of vibratos and tremolos
- how to play in the Masters' styles - Sonny Terry, Sonnyboy Williamson etc
Requirements
- All you need is a 10 hole diatonic harmonica in the key of C.
- Even if you've been told you are musically hopeless you can play harmonica! The famous harp slinger Lee Oskar was told that at school!
- You don't need any previous musical experience
- Tone deaf? no problem! You can play harmonica.
Description
*updated 2025* Udemy's BEST SELLING ultimate and complete harmonica course - with over 40,000 students.
No harmonica experience? No problem, I'll walk you through nice and slow.
Did you ever fool around with a harmonica as a kid?
Would you like to learn to play the harmonica better now?
Do you play guitar, piano, ukulele or are you a singer and want to add harmonica into your act?
Do you want an instrument that's easy to pick up, store and carry?
Did you inherit a harmonica and want to pay respect to the original owner??
Where you inspired by Bob Dylan, Sonny Terry, Little Walter, Mick Jagger?
Would you like to play in a church, campfire, band or jam session?
Do you think harmonica will help with COPD or other health issues?
Is this a retirement 'bucket-list' project?
If you answered yes to any of those who are in the right place.
This course will help you become a great harmonica player. All you need to do is follow the lectures in order plus some practice and you will start to feel a surge of confidence as you see your skills increasing daily.
This will be exciting, fun, and challenging – I think you will thoroughly enjoy it!
I think people recognise my passion for the harmonica. I’m not someone who plays bass, guitar, piano, drums and sings, records, gigs…I just (mostly) teach harmonica.
Sure I perform sometimes, gig with friends, go to jams, do corporate harp demonstrations but MOSTLY I focus on playing, learning and teaching harmonica.
So if you have a Hohner harmonica, a blues harmonica, hohner special 20, a chromatic harmonica (ok, not that one) a blues harp, a hohner big river, a harmonica holder, a harmonica set…you can start to play now.
Give me a shout if you need any help please.
MY PERSONAL GUARANTEE - I AM SO CONFIDENT YOU WILL LOVE THIS COURSE THAT IF YOU DON'T, AND SO FAR ALL BUT ONE PERSON WAS HAPPY, I WILL REFUND YOU ALL THE MONEY (within 30 days of purchasing) WITH NO QUESTIONS ASKED. THIS IRONCLAD GUARANTEE IS BACKED UP BY UDEMY.
This big course contains some smaller courses (don't buy them twice) such as:
7 days crash course – learn harmonica in a week
Trainsounds for harmonica players
Basic 12 bar blues foundation
Masterclass on Improving Tone
12 bar blues bassline
Box patterns – radical playing ideas
Love me Do
Big Walter Horton – Easy
Note bending (simple)
Note bending (advanced)
Who this course is for:
- This is for you if you fancy having a go at the harmonica.
- And if you've played a bit and need a refresh you will be amazed what you learn on this course.
- Intermediate players will also learn heaps. Look through the lectures and see what we cover - everyone will learn something.
- We all had a harmonica as a kid - now' it's time to reconnect with this amazing little toy!
Featured review
Instructor
- 4.6 Instructor Rating
- 10,913 Reviews
- 65,473 Students
- 102 Courses
Wow, I can't quite believe this - over 60,000 students, and 70,000 courses purchased...they can't all be wrong!
I am your HARMONICA SPECIALIST.
If you are new to harmonica please take the '30-day challenge' or the big 'Learn Harmonica - the easiest instrument to pick up' course to get you started.
If you are into Blues look for any course with the word 'Blues' in the title.
I also have three percussion courses for you on Bodhran and Washboard.
*Ben is the former Vice-President and a former Chairman of HarmonicaUK - formerly known as NHL - The National Harmonica League in the UK
*Professional Harmonica Instructor since 1996
*Ben qualified as CTABRSM in 2002 (Certificate of Teaching - Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music)
*Certificate of Music Workshop Skills (Goldsmiths University of London) in 1995
*Accredited Diatonic Harmonica Teacher 1993 - HTAB (Harmonica Teachers Accreditation Board, supported by Lee Oskar Harmonicas, the National Harmonica League of UK and the International Harmonica Organisation).
*Ben's schools teaching business 'HarpsCool' is proud to be 'IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HOHNER' - actually we closed that after 22 years because of Covid. They shut the schools. HarpsCool introduced TEN THOUSAND children to music through the harmonica.
'Ben Hewlett is one of the UK's most respected harmonica teachers and the UK's most prolific author on harmonica tuition. He will lead you through the ins and outs of harmonica playing through a series of short video lessons. His teaching style is confident, practiced, humorous, skilful, knowledgeable and packed with information in bite sized chunks. Ben is used to teaching all over the world at prestigious harmonica festivals and is delighted to offer his services to you.'
'You'll know Ben better as a harmonica teacher but he also studied Irish Drum - Bodhran - and tin whistle in the 1990's with the now very famous Steafan Hannigan and Marc Moggy from Renegade Rhythms. He got so into Bodhran playing he bought an expensive tuneable drum from Marc and it works better than ever to this day. Ben has played Bodhran in bands and sessions for years and even has a Senheiser bass drum microphone embedded into his drum. Check out his Bodhran teaching on Udemy'
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I would recommend using 'Transcribe!' for slowing down and changing the key on my backing tracks - it's free as a trial and well worth a look in my opinion. I also heard Capo is worth a look.
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I have been teaching people to play the harmonica since 1996 as a full-time job. I have started tens of thousands on their way to play the harmonica and I can tell you - it sure beats working
I believe I was the first person to be a full-time harmonica teacher in the UK, there are still very few of us - so there's plenty of room if you want to come and join me.
For the last few years, I was the Vice-President and Chairman of HarmonicaUK - formerly known as the National Harmonica League (NHL) which supports the UK harmonica players community.
Much of my time is spent writing books with Paul Lennon on how to play the harmonica, there are 20 or so with loads more in the pipeline - we have so many ideas it never stops.
I taught children in Primary Schools around Bristol UK, with my team at HarpsCool. We introduced around 10, 000 (ten thousand) children to music through the harmonica in 22 years.
My YT videos, and their success and feedback, are the reason I am teaching on Udemy; there are millions of hits on the youtube sites and thousands of subscribers. People are kind enough to say how clear the teaching is, and how it's helped them to understand aspects of harmonica playing - at last
I run workshops at major harmonica festivals including SPAH in the US, the Bristol International Harmonica Festival in the UK, the World Harmonica Festival in Trossingen, Germany - home of Hohner, and the Harmonica Masters Workshops also in Germany.
I even use the harmonica in team building events for many international companies.
Cruise Ships were part of my teaching life from 2002-2015 and the combination of teaching, performing and travelling is quite a blast. Who knew teaching the harmonica would take me to the Caribbean three times, Africa, Russia, Scandinavia, and Atlantic Europe.
You will often find me performing in various venues and going to jam sessions, and I love playing with interesting groups or sitting on a number when the opportunity arises - that's one of the wonderful things about the harmonica, you can have it in your back pocket and join in with people wherever you are.
So you are in extremely competent and safe hands, so do yourself a favour and try one of my courses - in fact, have a free lecture or two to suck it and see - that's a harmonica joke by the way.
COPYRIGHT POLICY
Firstly I need to make it clear I'm not doing this commercially - I'm not selling widgets; I'm a professional teacher trying to make a living teaching harmonica. This is not something you would do if you wanted to make a lot of money but I love doing it so I'll carry on.
If you think any copyright has been infringed please contact me immediately and I will take action.
Respect and thanks to all the artists for writing and performing these amazing songs that you want to learn.
The Copyright and Rights in Performances (Research, Education, Libraries and Archives) Regulations 2014 (extracts)
I quote:
"Not more than 5% of a work may be copied under this section by or on behalf of an educational establishment in any period of 12 months, and for these purposes a work, which incorporates another work is to be treated as a single work.
Fair dealing with a work for the purposes of private study does not infringe any copyright in the work.”
So...
Any recordings used in my courses represent less than 5% of the entire work and are already in the public domain on YouTube.
Any written transcriptions are written by me or my team to promote the work and the artist and to facilitate students who want to learn more about their music.
Any audio backing tracks are written and recorded by me or my team to promote the work and the artist and to facilitate students who want to learn more about their music.
If there was a fee for pointing students to an artist's original music (e.g. on Youtube) I would not bother teaching that music so it would not get taught and promoted by me.
If you are a copyright holder and feel I have used too much of your work please contact me and I will remove whatever you feel is inappropriate without question.
You will find my contact details of most of my websites or just google if you want to talk to me.
Ben Hewlett