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How to get single notes in five easy steps - quick and easy!

Name: How to get single notes in five easy steps - quick and easy!
Rating: 4.8 (41 reviews)

Want to play a tune on your harmonica? Take this course and I'll show you how. I'll walk you through in baby steps.

Created byBen Hewlett

Last updated 11/2018

English

What you'll learn

play single notes on your harmonica. Now you will be able to learn all the songs in the INSTANT HARMONICA series so look out for the courses coming up

Course content

1 section • 7 lectures • 38m total length

Intro to getting single notes0:59
This lecture is the introduction to the course

The first thing is - do you actually need this course?

If you can already play single notes then NO you don't but if you would like to get some help on the subject you are in the right place

It tells you what you will learn and how you will do it
How to play single notes - the first stage and overview of all the notes6:53
This lecture starts very slowly giving you an overview of all the 20 notes.

Next I show you the main 8 notes we will learn in this course.

Now I'm showing you how to play hole 1 as a single note.

There are different ways to get single notes but I'm showing you the easiest.
Why learn to play single notes?
Playing holes 1, 4, 5 and 106:37
Let's start with hole 1. Try to play it without letting hole 2 into the act.

Now we look at hole 10.

Where to play hole 10 to avoid marital breakups? I will advise you.

Next we look at playing hole 4 breathing out.

Now Hole 4 breathing IN.

Let's move up to hole 5 OUT and then IN.

Put those four notes together for the first part of our scale - the scale of C
Learning holes 6 and 78:22
Recapping last session on holes 4 and 5 - C,D, E, and F

Fragments of tunes - 'Praise Him, Praise Him' and 'Esso Blue' advert theme tune

Now adding G and A on hole 6

Eastenders theme

Long notes and short notes

Rhythm and beat

Metronomes - help you play in time

Explaining why two IN notes are next to other

Learning hole 7

Playing the whole scale CDEFGABC

Controlling the aperture in your lips
Scale of C6:55
Tricks to learning the scale of C

Using painters/masking tape to reduce choice and error

How do you hold the harmonica - let me show you

Different ways of holding the harmonica

Vibrato and 'wahwah'

Playing the scale going downwards

Reminder of why we're doing this - so you can play tunes - folk, jazz, blues, celtic, oh suzannah etc and also your favourite Neil Young solos or something by Nobel Peace Prize in Literature winning Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Jagger, Jones, Lennon...

Frere Jaques

How to work out the tune yourself

Keep practicing
Finishing off the scale of C and starting some tunes7:22
Check your single note accuracy - 50%?

Playing a little faster

Hear and see it on the piano

Play along with the piano

Looping the scale

One cojon to accompany the playing

Playing in a continual loop for one minute to build skill, concentration and stamina

Speeding up - take the challenge

Playing all the OUT (blow) notes

Breathing issues

Playing all the IN (draw) notes

Twinkle Twinkle

When the Saints

Oh Suzannah

Now you are qualified to play single notes and are all set to plat the tunes in my INSTANT HARMONICA COURSES

What would you like to play?

Ode to Joy, Cockles and Mussels, The Kesh Jig, Cock o' the North, Summertime, Amazing Grace, Over the Rainbow, solos from Neil Young, Dylan, Jagger...
Outro0:54
Wrapping up

What next?

What are you now qualified to do thet you wern't before taking this course?

Now go to any of my INSTANT HARMONICA courses and play the tunes

Requirements

You don't need to know anything - other than that you want to play a tune on a harmonica. You will need a 10 hole harmonica in the key of C

Description

This course shows you how to play single notes on your harmonica.

I intentionally didn't put much practice material in the course because this is really to qualify you to play tunes and tunes are the main aim.

That said please listen carefully to all the techniques and repeat them over and over to practice and learn the skills with muscle memory and intellectual process.

If you can already play single notes you can skip this (or take it and improve your playing) and go straight to the Instant Harmonica Series ie any of my courses with the words 'instant harmonica' in the title - or just search for those words or even search for Ben Hewlett and you'll get there.

This is for beginners and is very slow and easy to understand. I'll show you how to do it with demonstrations and I'll be using the whiteboard. You will learn to play the Doh Re Me tune - known as the scale of C.

We will learn 8 notes.

One at a time.

Very slowly.

Once you can get single notes the world is your lobster - you can play thousands of tunes with these 8 notes.

Let me know if there is a song or solo you want to learn and I'll try teach you how.

Look for any of my courses called 'INSTANT HARMONICA' and you will have the skills to play the tunes.

So here are some of the tunes coming up/available in my 'INSTANT HARMONICA' series:

Halelujah

Yesterday

Dirty Old Town

Summertime

Amazing Grace

Over the Rainbow

Ode to Joy

The Kesh

Oh Suzanna

When the Saints

Scarborough Fair

Also you will be able to play solos similar to the harmonica playing of Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Paul Jones, John Lennon...