Lesson / tips on playing Blues harp and guitar TOGETHER 

I'm glad I could help you out Peter. Cheers for checking in. you may like my new album ere davidthorpeharmonica.bandcamp.com/releases

Glad I could inspire you! Thanks :) :)

Great to hear from ya Eddie, glad my vids help. Music is the best therapy. :)

Cheers! :)

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it :) :)

Thank you for your kind words, I'm glad i could help you out. I have anew album coming very soon right here...skifflemachine.bandcamp.com/

Thanks Grady, I have a couple more videos about harp and guitar together on my channel, please check 'em out! Cheers :)

Thanks Frank! Great to hear I hit the spot, always happy to help :)

Thanks for your good vibes Ben!.. Glad I can help. feel free to holler out is I can assist further... this may also be useful ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-p0ZWIzi37SE.html

thanks for your kind words Ryder

Glad I could help you out :)

Enjoy playing them together Bob. :)

Cheers for your kind words Willem :)

Cheers Sven, good luck :)

Here is another rack harmonica player! ru-vid.com/show-UCAjK8kxZy5OAiS9FPsEzDZg

It's great to be part of your musical Journey Roger! Keep rockin'

Too kind GT :) Thank man!

Cheers Jamie, Glad I helped you out! good luck with your harp journey. More of my music here....skifflemachine.bandcamp.com

Thanks Isabelle Jayne, I hope it helps out. Here is one about the Blues Scale...ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-p0ZWIzi37SE.html. Cheers!

Thanks for the good vibes Max, good luck on your journey. :)

Thanks Allen :) :)

Thank you for your kind words! Glad I can help you out :) :)

Cheers Robert! :)

No problem Andy, I'm glad my vids hit the spot for you. Keep playing and rocking :)

Thanks Delores :)

Glad I could help you out! thank you :)

Glad it was helpful! Keep Rockin' John.

Thanks for the good vibes. Lots of Blues Harp on my new album here davidthorpeharmonica.bandcamp.com/releases

Keep Rocking! Thanks :)

Thank you so much 😀

Cheers Bradley!

Thanks Marc, All the best from NZ :)

Enjoy the journey Paul! :)

Cheer Ronald, I'm glad you liked it! more abut my music here.. skifflemachine.bandcamp.com

Cheers Lee :)

Thanks you! enjoy the practice, it will be fun :)

That's great to know man, thanks for your feedback! good luck on your journey. More of my music here...:) www.backyardmusic.co.nz/shop

Li'l Chuck The One Man Skiffle Machine One question: on your riffs at 14:07 and 14:11 I see you slip down to hit the 1 hole, I can’t seem to hit that tone on either of my ‘A‘ harps. Do you modify the reeds or is it a bend that I just can’t hit yet? Either way, you got all kinds of soul in these jams brother!

@@steveshumka5984 Hey man, all of my harps are straight out of the box, no mods, I only open them up and adjust them after I get a peanut stuck in 'em. Embouchure is the key.... your mouth shape has to be absolutely perfect to hit hole 1 as a perfect single note whilst sealing off the bit of your mouth that hangs off the end of the harp.... then the tone / bends come... I am a lip blocker by the way....I don't recall 'learning' this technique... I started dabbling with this instrument before the internet was invented.... I think I probably knew the note was there, what it sounded like then just figured out a way to make make a mouth shape so that I could achieve it..... I show this video to all my students... it may be useful...ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-01c5u-RPvrY.html :)

Li'l Chuck The One Man Skiffle Machine Awesome! Thanks for the reply, I’m at the point where I need to expand my ‘go to’ riffs when free styling or trying to match a rythym to a song. definitely a note I will work on now that I know it’s attainable with my harp. It really puts a polish on the riffs you’re laying down. You one man band guys have always fascinated me beyond belief, I’ve lately been dabbling in it a bit to try to bring my guitar, harmonica, and drums together. Too much fun! .... and yeah, peanuts are the devil hahah.

Keep Rockin' man!

Nice one. Enjoy the journey. Open tunings and harp are great, I do it a lot. Here's one of mine in open C.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JOC0zZKib_M.html

Brilliant Dale! I am really glad you like my (slightly quirky) style and that I am able to help you out! please feel free if I can help you further with your music :)

Thanks Joe :)

Good Luck :)

Cheers! hope it helped you out :)

good luck William :)

That’s kind of funny since Dylan is the worst harp player ever! Sounds like dying cats

Anybody who inspires another to pick up the harp and head off on a personal musical journey of discovery is alright by me :)

@@lilchucktheonemanskifflema2214 This tutorial is great, probably one of the best on RU-vid on the matter. I keep coming back! I am incorporating more and more Dylan songs into my guitar + harp repertoire, and so far I'm loving it! It's been a great journey and it's just the beginning... I hope! Thank you

@@bsnf-5 Thanks for your kind words, Cheers for investing the time into practice and watching my vids :)

Cheers John :)

thanks you for your kind words :)

Thank you! new harp album out now :) davidthorpeharmonica.bandcamp.com/releases

@@lilchucktheonemanskifflema2214 awesome!

Thanks for your kind words Thomas. New harmonica album just released! davidthorpeharmonica.bandcamp.com/album/my-harp-my-rules

Glad it helped you out :)

Thank you :) :)

Do you teach guitar and harmonica , do you have a set course if I focus full time will it be able to play gig / perform with in a six months, I'm trying to leave my job and would like to fully focus on it . because by working I can't give much time, and all the efforts are useless. Also please explain if you have one , how does it work and how much it cost, for many years I'm trying to fulfill my dream but never able to do it.

I do online lessons via Skype etc. www.backyardmusic.co.nz/harmonica

What are the fees and it takes how much time for guitar

please drop me an email from the contact page on my website and I will discuss all details with you via email. Thank you. :)

Thank you for watching! :)

Thanks for your thoughts Roel. I like ether K&M as it is secure, stable, solid etc.... ergonomically, it seems to fit my head and neck shape and size..... there are loads of racks available, it really is a case of trial and error. :)

Thanks! :)

Cheers Daniel, Thanks for checking in. personally speaking, for me there is no difference to my harmonica technique whether I am playing with or without the rack, apart from a few 'hand' techniques which I can't achieve when I am 'hands free'. Bends and breathing etc are in theory exactly the same in or out of the brace if you have good skills and technique to start with. feel free to check out a recent album of mine, mostly played out of the brace apart from track 11 cheers! davidthorpeharmonica.bandcamp.com/album/my-harp-my-rules

@lilchucktheonemanskifflema2214 When I play the harp with the hands the harp is lying in the hands or mouth with a bit of an angle. Then the bending is actually quite easy. But when I play with the rack there is no angle of the harp. That makes it difficult for me to bend. Do you have a hint for me?

You can try both but standing is always better for your posture and breathing.

Hey Ollie, here is my video about keys...but as a start, for this style think about and A & D harp. I am available for online tuition or in person. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-gtL4pVOHBBA.html (for tuition check out backyardmusic.co.nz)

thanks for your question, in my opinion, to 'bend a harmonica reed' takes very little effort and with good technique one doesn't need to tune the reeds very often, at all however, I have found in earlier years of my playing, I used to go through a significant number of reeds and that was because I was playing 'too hard'.

Cheers for checking in Mark. This guitar is a 'Loar'. good luck with your recovery and playing.

Nice George... I have other videos on my channel all about harmonica keys, hope they help you out. Cheers! :)

@@lilchucktheonemanskifflema2214 Thank you Chuck. I will check them out.

If your harp is "C", the guitar plays in "G" for the blues. If the harp is an "A", then the guitar plays in "E". Notice the guitar plays in the 5th of whatever key the harp is. The root note is the "blow 3rd hole" or the "draw 2nd hole". Ta-daa!

@@lonesomelou4188 Thank you for sharing this!

@@GeorgeStraughn I'm glad you appreciated my comment. I was worried that I might not be clarifying my idea, but I just re-read it and even I understood it...hahaha...I diagrammed the holes of the harp to see what the notes were in each hole...that helped me alot...I realized you can play an "E" blues with the guitar also in "E" beginning on "blow2"...nice pentatonic scale available: E G A B D...

Thanks for your kind words Steve! yep, so true... I have been pondering how to present this lesson for ages so I just gave it a shot and hopefully it works! Yep the racks can be dreadful! I have tried one of those magnetic holders on a boom stand but i felt I couldn't get enough 'bite' on it... there was so much movement because of the angle and height of the boom it was very wobbly had hard to control....Good luck! always happy to help where I can :)

Cool Chuck. Thanks for your reply and I hear what you're saying. I'll have to see what works best and I've already resigned myself to the fact that regardless of what I device I use, there will be a certain amount of tweaking that goes along with it. I'm also working on a clamp that easily attaches to the body of the guitar without hurting it, coupled with a harp holder. Nothing around my neck. Thanks!!

yep, the never ending journey of finding out what gear works for YOU!... good luck on the voyage :)... by the way, if you get to the point of looking at amplified rack harp then this is the go....ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-p5yP9GC0zLU.html Outstanding!!!!

Very cool Chuck. I really appreciate your reply and the information you provided! I'm starting to get a little excited about this because it's something I've always wanted to do and I'm also thinking I can make a few bucks playing for folks in and around California where I live.

Cool man, do it!😃

Thanks Michael. I'm predominantly a lip blocker but I do tongue block for certain techniques and sounds both 'in the rack' and 'out of the rack'. A rack player mate of mine tongue blocks exclusively in the rack. I hope this helps.

@@lilchucktheonemanskifflema2214 Thanks Chuck..Lip blocking? This is new to me mate! Will have to investigate more😎👍

​@@michaelwylie8564 Lip block is just the term I use for what others may call lip purse / pucker... I looked into Harmonica Embouchure terminology a bit deeper today (for my oven re eduction and development) and found this video by @Ronnieshellist and my approach is quite similar to the way he approaches the instrument. good luck! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-M2oZ8oBwuMw.html

Thanks Michael. it's essentially my 'lazy' Em shape power chord played with one finger over the A&D strings. I really only honk on the E and A sting.... same with the A chord, I just drop it down a string.

Nice one glad you like it... ok :) I have a new music video releasing this week so please make sure you have your notifications on, ok and a new album ready for release right here, ok :) skifflemachine.bandcamp.com/album/so-lo

If you are playing 2nd position Harp then a D harp, or and A harp for first position.

Cheers :), here are 2 videos explaining keys and racks. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-gtL4pVOHBBA.html

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XVyHhlYdUpA.html

Sir , thank you very much for your reply. Really appreciated.

Very kind Mikel. Thank you :)

Thanks Michael, I play live mainly in Christchurch, New Zealand and will in fact be playing at the world buskers festival here in January. My gig guide is on backyardmusic.co.nz As for vids of my playing live, I have tons of them on this YT Channel plus on my Li'l Chuck Facebook page. :) :)

THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE. I'LL BE LOOKING FOR MORE VIDEO'S AND HAVE A GREAT NEW YEAR MATE

Hi Rajat, personally i have never heard of harmonica affecting ones voice. For me, with 25 years professional singing and harp playing, my voice (and harp playing) seem to get better and stronger and better with every passing year.

@@lilchucktheonemanskifflema2214 Thanku sir fir quick reply and for good counselling

Play Blues in the key of C

A 10 hole diatonic harmonica.

All the key info is in the video

I play many different brands of guitar, the one in this video is a 'Loar'

Believe me, I know what is like to play in the bitter cold.

do it! Enjoy :)

Thanks for checking in JP. I teach online lessons worldwide that are tailored to my student specific requirements. l free to hit me up anytime here: www.backyardmusic.co.nz/harmonica