Learn how to play jazz harmonica: 25 tips
Listen to jazz everyday, at least one hour.
Play your chromatic or diatonic harmonica every day. Minimum 15 minutes but try to do 45-60 minutes.
Go to jazz concerts. Jazz concerts are a fantastic live experience. It is very powerful and inspiring feel to hear the music, see the musicians and feel the vibe. Study the musicians, how they connect and interplay.
Learn basic music theory. Watch Youtube or take a course. Book I recommend: Tonal Harmony by Kostka. It is a bit expensive so see if you can find it second hand. Otherwise buy a book on basic music theory.
Learn jazz theory. Watch Youtube or take a course. Book I recommend: Jazz Harmony Book, Berkman.
Learn to play keyboard/piano, guitar or any other chord instrument. Just learn basic chords and progressions. This will help you a lot. You can buy a cheap keyboard, just so you can hear, see and understand chords and how they are built.
Buy a sheet music book with collection of tunes. I recommend “The Real Book - 6th edition” by Hal Leonard Co. Get a concert C version.
Learn five beginner standards (C jam Blues, Autumn Leaves, Fly me to the Moon, Blue Monk, Summertime)
Practice arpeggios - learn all diatonic 7th chords in all keys. Cmaj7, Dm7, Em7 Fmaj7, G7, Am7, Bm7b5.
Practice scales - learn all major scales in all keys and all inversions. Learn all jazz melodic minor scales in all keys. Learn all diminished scales in all keys.
Starting transcribing your favorite solos. It can be a long journey to be able to play them on your instrument but start by learning to sing them. Both with a recording and by memory.
If you are already improvising - great! Remember to take the harmonica out of your mouth and listen to rhythm section or backing track. Play 4 bars - take a break 4 bars. Play 8 bars - take a break 8 bars. Doing this makes you hear more and relax and it can really develop your playing.
Start to use tongue and glottis (throat) muscle articulation, da-da da-da and da-de-li for triplets. Don’t articulate every note, let it flow and aim for legato. Articulate when the music needs it.
Aim for a big warm tone - open up the throat as much as possible. Imagine that you are breathing hot air on glass. Sit up straight when you play or stand up. This opens up the lungs much more than leaning back in a chair.
Practice “backbeat breathing”. This means making a little push with the air on the second eight note for every beat = 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and. The off beats need a little push and this will make them swing.
Start to put the metronome on beat 2 and 4. So if you tempo is 120 bpm - you put it on 60 bpm and you hear the metronome as 2 - 4, 2 - 4, 2 - 4. Also listen to jazz music and snap your fingers on 2 and 4.
Get used to playing with a handheld microphone. It will give you the biggest and most mellow tone. Practice with a microphone too so it feels natural live and jams.
Vibrato - go for throat or tongue vibrato. Hand vibrato is more common in classical and folk/country.
If you play jazz on the diatonic - practice your bends, overblows/draws so they all sound in tune. Play every day to a reference note. Download a drone app. Train your ear to hear when you are in tune - don’t look at tuners. Listen. Don’t only play the reference note - play perfect fifths, fourths, etc.
Go on Youtube and look up videos with Toots Thielemans, Antonio Serrano, Gregoire Maret, Hendrik Meurkens, Howard Levy, etc. Make playlists and go back and revisit the clips. Even though the harmonica is small instrument you can learn a lot by watching another harmonica player play. Study how they hold the instrument, what angles they prefer while holding, watch their neck, head and hands move. And of course listen to the music!
Find other jazz players on other instruments. Go to jam sessions, open stage, etc. Connect with music friends and ask if anyone is up for some jazz jam.
Find a local jazz teacher - it does not have to be a harmonica teacher. It could be piano, guitar, trumpet, etc. I took lessons from other instrumentalists for five years at the Royal College of Music, it works fine - the music is the goal.
Find a harmonica teacher. Study locally, take online lessons or go to harmonica events.
Learn about jazz history. Read books, autobiographies and watch documentaries and movies.
Do ear training, take a course or buy the app “Complete Ear Trainer”, it’s available on both iOS and Android.
