It had always been my ambition to play a musical instrument, but somehow I didn’t get around to it until I was in my forties, and, somewhere in between, I lost my eyesight. So why did I pick the harmonica? (Diatonic first and then chromatic.) Well, quite frankly, I tried to think of an instrument I could learn by listening to instruction rather than having to see where to put fingers, etc. The harmonica seemed perfect for me because, firstly, most of what’s going on is happening unseen and has to be described (I have even heard it be called a blind instrument due to this) and, secondly, I thought it would be easy. Dave ‘Dogfish’ Colclough It turned out I was correct on the first point and very wrong on the second! Who would have thought our tiny instrument could be We are grateful so beautifully expressive and yet so technically difficult to for Dave’s help master? in making our With so many techniques and nuances to learn, it is an magazine more instrument that fascinates me. accessible and we I often find myself talking about this at great length to now have digital, my long-suffering wife, Suzy, and in the process I have print and large print discovered that I can identify the sound of eyeballs rolling. versions available. So, having chosen my instrument, I bought my first harmonica for the princely sum of £6 and headed off to We would love to YouTube to search for lessons. create an audio version too so if any Although my harp was as leaky as a colander, I easily found beginner lessons and began the painful process of getting budding voice over single notes. artists want to have I should say at this point that I quickly realised that you get a go ....? what you pay for and upgraded my harmonica, and I would recommend to beginners to not go for the cheapest. Good quality harps are really affordable, and cheap ones can hamper your progress and discourage you. The wealth of lessons on YouTube are great, but after six months I found myself flitting from one lesson to another (some far too advanced for me at this point). I felt my learning was unstructured, and I was attempting to learn too much too soon and absorbing very little.
BLIND AMBITION
18
The magazine for HarmonicaUK
