 [Larger view] | Rock n' Blues Harmonica: A World of Harp Knowledge, Songs, Stories, Lessons, Riffs, Techniques and Audio Index for a New Generation of Harp Players (Includes book and 74 minute stereo CD Jamming Buddy)
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| Rock n' Blues Harmonica: A World of Harp Knowledge... | |
| I started with Jon Gindick's book "Country and Blues Harmonica for the musically hopeless", and liked it so much I thought I would try this one as well. Both are excellent. While I was no longer an absolute beginner, this book would still be suitable for someone with no music experience at all. Even so, there was PLENTY of new and useful material for me. In fact I have a friend that I consider an advanced blues harp player, and he still enjoys these books and finds them very useful. The CD is packed with good instruction and music to play along with as you advance. The instruction is on one channel and the background music is on the other - cool idea to give you more control. I don't think you can go wrong with this one. | |
| The Most Effective Book on Harmonica I've Ever Seen! | |
| From time to time while searching through the scores of musical instruction books available, a true jewel of a book is found. That one book that just somehow manages to make things happen..and now! That book is 'Rock n Blues Harmonica' by Jon Gindick. It is everything the details describe and more. It really is. I am a rank beginner at playing harp but this book has inspired me such that I won't be a beginner very long. I am primarily a bass player but after about an hour with this book I won't hesitate to jump on up there and jam out on harp.Not many instructional books can do that so quickly but this one sure can.It's amazing! My friends and family could'nt believe it was really me jamming out with the jam backing tracks provided on the CD. This is one serious, get down, cut out the B.S. instant result gettin book! Within an hour after recieving it I felt compelled to write an e-mail to Jon and share my thoughts with him. Below is that letter. Greetings Jon! Don't take my word for it...Get it and Hit it! | |
| the one to get first! | |
| I see that this book has 5 stars and over 30 reviews so I hardly have to convince any one of how good it is. The author is obviously a heck of a good guy and he talks you through all the techniques and riffs in the book. The fact that he is not only a great harp player but also a great teacher makes this book and cd worth it's weight in gold. Another great section of the book is the extensive list of albums that feature harmonica with every track listed along with the key the harp is played for every song on the album! I got myself a Hohner Special 20 harp which is Jon's top recommendation on his website. This is an updated version of the Marine Band and is easier to bend notes on than that. Make sure you don't pay too much for one of these harps, about 20 bucks is about right. I saw a catalog for homespun that had the Lee Oskar harps (also recommended and quite similar to the Hohner Special 20) for sale for 37.00 which I guess is list price. Yikes! Like I mentioned, the special 20 and the Oskar is about 20.00 if you go online or to the big guitar outlet place that's all over the place. Anyway, thanks Jon, I'll soon be getting your Americana book with the 2 cds. The Blues Harp collection (different author, but also on amazon) is also a fantastic book although of course you'll have to get at least a Little Walter and a Sonny Boy Williamson album to hear alot of the tunes transcribed in this book. I got the versions called "His Best" of both of these guys. One other book that is no less than amazing is the Bluegrass Harmonica by Mike Stevens (also available thru Amazon) Don't pass this by because you may not be into bluegrass, it's got quite a few traditional melodies and originals by Stevens but the main thing is the technique involved is incredible. It involves bending like in the book reviewed here but it goes a bit further into bends and a somewhat advanced technique called overblows which together will teach you to get every note available out of a regular diatonic harp. Also with a cd and again, the tunes and technique here are not to be missed. |
