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The instrument
Harmonicas come in many shapes and sizes. To follow this course, you need a "Richter scale" harmonica - or blues harmonica as it's usually called today.Not sure if you've got one? The blues harmonica is approximately 10.5 cm (a little more than 4") wide and has 10 channels ("blow holes"). There are some other kinds of harmincas that looks exactly like a blues harmonica, but they're all rather rare, so if your instrument fits the description, you should be safe. If not, it's time for some shopping (don't worry, they're not expensive).
If you're going to play along with the midi files here, you'll need one tuned in C (the box's got a small, round, yellow or orange sticker with the letter "C" on it). If you won't use the midi files, any blues harmonica will do.
There are a few different brands of blues harmonicas, of course. The one I'd recommend is the Lee Oskar Major Diatonic Harmonica. It's reliable and easy to play, doesn't cost too much and has a big, nice tone. Last time I checked,
Musician's Friend sold it for $24.99. (Make sure you choose "C" in the options menu if you order from them, though!)
Wnat to know your options? Here's a list of the most common brands.
Midi player
If you haven't got a midi player already, you can download QuickTime from Apple. It's a nice little application that can play not only midi files, but most any sound and movie files you can think of. And most important: It's completely free! OK, the midi sounds might not be of professional standard, but hey, what do you want for nothing?Crescendo is another free alternative for Windows users. The sound quality isn't as good as QuickTime, but still more than acceptable for this use. (There is a Macintosh version of Crescendo too, btw, but that's only a front end for QuickTime, so that's a rather pointless program...)
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| Site last updated . This particular page was created 10/07/2004 and last updated 17/05/2005 Site updates |