Amanda Ventura is a young harmonica player based in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. I first saw her playing on Instagram and was blown away with her “True Blues” style of playing. How long have you been playing harmonica?
A SENSE OF MUSIC
I’ve been playing harmonica since I was 18 years old, so I’ve been playing for six years now. At first, I learned from a teacher in my city called Tiago Juk. After a few months, I continued to study by myself using YouTube including those from the great Brazilian harmonica player Igor Kasuya.
An interview with Amanda Ventura Steve Pardue, Editorial team
What brought you to playing harmonica?
When I was a teenager, I loved a harmonica solo of a song called “Morena” by a band called Scracho. I remember repeating the solo part over and over again. At the time I was studying acoustic guitar, but I was so fascinated by the sound and expressiveness of the harmonica that I switched instruments. What harmonica do you play? I like to play different harmonicas according to the style of music I’m playing. When I play old school blues, for example, I choose a Hohner Marine Band. I love its wood tone and I think the sound suits this style of music a lot. When I want a more modern sound, I play with Suzuki or Seydel models. My favourites from these brands are the Suzuki Manji and the Seydel 1847 Noble. How do you practise? I practise every day. My favourite exercise is to search for cool backing tracks on YouTube and from these I create my own melodies. I just play and have fun. Before the pandemic, I played gigs with different bands from my city. It was such a good experience for me to show people the music I practise alone. How long have you been teaching? I’ve been teaching classes for about a year. My lessons usually start with first learning to play single notes and develop the “embocadura” (embrochure). After the first class, I give my students a simple song so that they start to feel the music, even before they know how to perform the techniques. This helps my students to develop their sense of music and learn to use their ears.
