Blues harmonica and saxophone

Does anyone share the same interests ?

playing blues harmonica or saxophone.

I have a Harmonica, I keep it in the car, I do a lot of driving and when I have had enough of the traffic I get it out and play along to Van Morrison songs.

Not very good though, its so hard to play!

A lot of my practice was done sat in the car waiting to pick my wife up from work, how long have you been playing, check out j.j. milteau for inspiration,thanks for the reply,just keep on blowing.

im a saxophonist if that helps?! and a sax teacher if you want lessons hehe

lindsay

I'm learning how to play the harmonica, Sonny Terry is one guy I listen to for insparation, do any of you have any advice for a begginer?

I'm also learning to play the bass, blues,jazz and rock 'n' roll based, anyone know anything on that?

I play the harps casually, but I like to think I'm alright at it . I have seven of my own, I know it isn't nearly enough but the number's still increasing...

I just have the two, blues harp in C+G, I want to be confident in my ability before I buy any more. What are your reccomendations for harps, make/scale etc?

Lee Oskar is still the best reasonably-priced brand about, in my opinion. At £19.99 each, they are at the high end, but still worth owning at least a couple. A tip: get hold of a Lee Oskar Natural Minor harp, they're made with an excellent minor key noteset.

The only disadvantage I've had with Lee Oskar harps is that they feel a bit flimsy at first. Trust me, they're not, and you'll get used to it VERY quickly.

Other ones to look out for? Hohner's Big River series. £11.99 each, so they're a lot cheaper. But they only have the usual major diatonic keys available, and it's a lot harder to bend notes with them. Don't be tempted by the £16.99 Hohner Blues Harp series, which is designed to be an upgrade of the Big River. They may sound slightly better, but they're much tougher to play, they feel awful in the mouth, and you can't bend notes as easily with them. It's not worth it.

So yeah. Lee Oskar or Hohner Big River. Either's good. Plus for novelty value there's always the £4.99 fully-functioning Hohner Little Lady *looks at his minature 4-hole Little Lady that's connected onto his keyring*...

As for what scale to buy, I'd recommend major keys in D, A, E or B. D and A would be the first to buy, but it really depends if you're going to be playing them as accompaniment to other music or if you're going to use them on your own.

Also, check out the Lee Oskar Natural Minor series, as I mentioned before. I have one in Eflatminor, but I wouldn't recommend that as I needed it to accompany a certain piece. But they're great (probably better) on their own than with accompaniment. Which keys to choose? Go for one in C or G.

Then there are the other Lee Oskar notesets - the Melody Maker and the Harmonic Minor. I have a Melody Maker in C and it's not a great noteset, I wouldn't recommend it. I don't have a Harmonic Minor harp, so I don't know, but looking at the notes I don't think it'll be that great. I dunno, I may have to get one to find out. Whatever, a Lee Oskar is still a Lee Oskar .

What models are your harmonicas at the moment?

Yikes! so much I didn't know:confused:

Mine are the Hohner blues series, and I find them so akward to play, but I will take your advice and get the lee oskar. Thanks for the help:thumbsup:

You're welcome . The Music Box in Meadowhall sells them, and so does Fox, the one near Argos (after I went in and said a few things about them , maybe I should write off to Washington State and get a job working for Lee Oskar...)

My bus stop is right outside fox's music, that's where I got one of my harps the other was from music box, I try not to go in fox's too often as I will miss my bus (if it turns up anyway) and come out with a bag full of goodies:P