A Personal Perspective

Before I decided to start learning harmonica, there was Bob Dylan. I love his songs, so, whether it was “Mr. Tambourine Man” or “Blowin’ in the Wind,” I ended up listening to the harmonica without fully realising it - I just thought whatever he was playing sounded cool. Listening back again now that I’m learning, I really appreciate how enthusiastic his sound is. It seems sloppier and less technical than how I practice, and it reminds me not to get too caught up in technique, to have fun.

Buddy Greene

Also before I picked up a harp myself, I found A PERSONAL out about Buddy Greene from a video of him performing a classical harmonica medley at PERSPECTIVE Carnegie Hall. I’ll admit it, I used to believe the stereotypes of harmonica not being ‘a real instrument’, something played exclusively by Sophia Ramirez grandpas on front porches and not to be taken Editorial Team too seriously. Thankfully, listening to Buddy Greene play Bach and Rossini at the most prestigious concert stage in the US definitely helped me start to change the way I saw the instrument.

As a high school teen who plays the harmonica when she should probably be doing homework, I’m pretty much at the start of my learning, and so I’m still just exploring different styles of playing. Here are some of my personal favourite players that I’ve stumbled upon along the way! Adam Gussow

I’ve been learning harmonica mostly from YouTube, and it’s amazing how accessible lessons from masters like Adam Gussow are. I doubt I’ll be achieving overblows any time soon, but I do enjoy hearing his. This is unrelated to musical influences, but I also loved the documentary Satan & Adam on Netflix - 10/10, would recommend.

Rachelle Plas

I don’t remember when I first heard about Rachelle Plas, but I really enjoyed the live streams she hosted over quarantine, where she talked and played. She speaks French in them, which I figured would be an issue, but music knows no language barrier, as they say (that and the fact that she also switches often into English too, which helps). She says harmonica is like a second voice to her, and I love how clearly that’s conveyed in her modern style.

I wonder how this guy ended up here. I listened to “Juke” mainly for the history of it, and, wouldn’t you know it, I thought it was pretty great.

Paul Butterfield

I do want to get better at tongue blocking eventually, but at the moment I’m mainly a lip purser. While looking around for famous fellow pucker players, I discovered Butterfield. He has a really rich tone, and I’m obsessed with how his vibrato sounds.

Indiara Sfair

She’s amazing! I love her improvisational solos - they’re so quick and soulful. Hopefully, as more women get involved in harmonica, a player’s gender will become less notable; for now though, in what seems to be a male-dominated interest, I appreciate having players like Sfair to look up to. There’s that! For the many of you who probably already knew all these incredible players already, hopefully my experience can at least remind you fondly of earlier days, when you still didn’t really get what ‘harmonica positions’ are. Or maybe that’s just me.

Bob Dylan and Joan Baez at a Civil Rights in 1963.