Suzy Colclough: Chromatic Harmonica from Scratch

In March 2021, Suzy Colclough decided, in her early fifties, to learn the chromatic harmonica from scratch. She contacted Pete Hewitt for a possible teacher. Her husband, ‘Dogfish' Dave Colclough, already active in HarmonicaUK, was wellknown to members as an excellent blues player, but few of us knew Suzy. In April, Suzy started taking weekly lessons with me and participating in most of my Zoom workshops. Not everyone is aware that both Suzy and Dave are visually impaired: “Dave can see something, most definitely light and dark, but I am completely blind, which is rare – only 2% of people are like me”, Suzy explains. SUZY COLCLOUGH: CHROMATIC HARMONICA FROM SCRATCH

Adam Glasser, HarmonicaUK Patron

Suzy gave up her business as a complementary holistic therapist 10 years ago. She had always enjoyed music. When she was little, her nanny had an organ which fascinated her, and a book that played tunes. But Suzy never had any music tuition until quite recently, when she tried the saxophone. After only two lessons she was forced to give it up because of illness. But upon hearing the chromatic harmonica, she realised it was a path to the kind of music she wanted to learn. I have never in decades of teaching come across anyone who has made so much progress in such a short space of time, starting from zero knowledge of music theory or instrumental experience. She has been consistently passionate and committed with a complete approach to learning music, developing a beautiful distinctive tone, and playing exercises and songs in different keys, and the desire to deeply understand music theory. With distinctive tastes and a relentless work ethic which she is able to sustain even during times of ill health, there is no limit to how far Suzy Colclough may progress as a player and teacher: "I found learning over the past months really enjoyable. Occasionally, I don't understand, but I tend to just take it away, leave it for 24 hours, and then I wake up in the morning, and it makes sense. I know the way I work and study because I've done therapy qualifications since leaving

school. I know the way my brain works. I often have to sleep on things and then the following morning, it makes sense. I would really like, one day, to teach the harmonica. I was teaching the last six months of my therapy work. I love working with people and explaining things to them".

How does Suzy conceptualise in her mind the layout of the chromatic?

"The image I have for the notes is like a kind of egg box turned on its side with 12 holes. And so, the top, if you go from the left, the top egg would be C, then below it would be the D. The gap in the middle between the two eggs would be the sharp or the flat. I have all the blows across the top and the draws across the bottom."

At my suggestion, Suzy bought a small midi keyboard, which she has been using intermittently to assist with note layout and music theory:

"You can find the note more easily on the keyboard than on the harmonica. Once I hit the note that I'm looking for on the keyboard I can find it on the harmonica. I don't tend to use the keyboard for exercises. I tried to do those directly onto the harmonica. But if I'm learning a new song, then I most definitely use the keyboard. If I haven't got a particular pattern together, I go back to the keyboard and then play it on the harmonica. I know it seems strange, but I also enjoy technical exercises very much because I can see the most progress when I do exercises". Suzy has learnt a substantial number of exercises in all keys, simple songs and nursery rhythms as well as more ambitious melodies – jazz standards like Autumn Leaves, Moon River, themes from the Godfather and the Deer Hunter. She has particularly enjoyed learning Beethoven's Für Elise, which she first heard as child tinkling out of her Mum's jewellery box when it opened. In September of this year at Suzy's initiative, we did an interview with Lynne Morgan, content producer for RNIB Connect Radio – the UK radio station sharing stories on a wide range of topics of people living with sight loss. Suzy and I talk about the experience of learning and teaching and contributed some pre-recorded pieces. The programme can be heard here: https://audioboom.com/posts/7956348-harmonicauk-festival In recent months. Suzy has also been regularly in touch by phone with Jim Hughes who, over the past few years, has lost his sight. They found much in common and are planning to do a workshop together, so keep an eye on the HarmonicaUK

Newsletter! To sum up, I found it hugely enjoyable and a great privilege to work with Suzy Colclough. The experience has influenced my teaching practice toward all harmonica students, i.e. more emphasis on muscle memory and ear training and less emphasis on written material/TAB/sight reading. I look forward very much to seeing Suzy progress further – there is no limit to what she can achieve!

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