Hello and welcome to the first lesson of 2022! Happy New Year!
I hope you had a good break over the festive period and are all excited about starting up again?
Because it is the first lesson of 2022 I thought it would be a good idea to set some personal goals for your harmonica practice this year. I originally posted this video in 2018 but it is still valid and useful now…
Click here to get the worksheets
What are the three steps to achieving your goal?
Step 1 – What do you want to achieve this year on the instrument?
It is easy to set open-ended goals like “be better on the harmonica” or “be awesome” but they are not concrete enough. Instead you need to set a concrete and achievable goal.
Here are some examples –
• Sit in at a blues jam session
• Learn a song from start to finish
• Learn to play in 3rd position
Once you have a goal, write it down on your goal sheet.
Step 2 – Work out what steps are necessary
Big goals are achieved by mastering a number of “micro-skills”. This is why it is important to write down all the smaller steps you need to take to achieve the goal.
So, if we take the example of sitting in at a blues jam, here are some smaller steps that will get you there;
1) Learn the 12 bar blues structure
2) Understand how the 12 bar structure relates to harmoncia
3) Improvise using root notes
4) Learn the Blues Scale
5) Use Blues Scale to spice up your root note improvisation
6) Learn 3 great licks
7) Learn about keys and positions
8) Practice with a microphone
9) Find a jam session and talk to the organiser
Once you have worked out the smaller steps required to achieve your big goal write them on your work sheet.
Step 3 – Commit to a regular (and realistic) practice schedule
Little and often is the best way to practice and achieve what you want quicker but because of how life is we tend to end up with a largish practice session every week or so rather than more smaller regular sessions.
Try to fit in a little bit each day because sleep is an essential component of practice.
Use your practice sheet to keep track of your daily practice sessions and what you are working on.
Click here to get the worksheets
Thank You!
Thank you so much for taking part in this lesson. I now want you to write down your goal in the comments below. Commit to achieving it!
Hi Tomlin,
thank you for the new lesson, you are really a very good teacher. I wont to practice every day for at least 30 minutes.
With best regards,
Roland
I would like to sit in with a guitar entainer at our club & be able to play 3 different songs from start to finish. Playing background, improvising along with vacals & lead instrumental.
I consider myself an advanced begining player & would like to start an intermediate program. I have been following your weekly lessons for about a year, have completed the prov lessons for beginners. Do you have such a program? I have noticed a program that may be of help but am unable to access it.
learn a nice bouncy song from start to finish
Hi, I had my first ever harp for Christmas. I am going to learn a song first from start to finish. The song I have in mind is Stand by me by BE King. I love to play it on my guitar . Fingers crossed I will by the end of starting out I will be able to play it on both. At the moment I am watching has much harp playing trying to understand the correct way to play. Many thanks for your video on how to play. Dave
I’d love to improve my playing in the top third. Blow bends have escaped me so would love to learn how to do that.
Happy New Year!
Wish you all the best and l’m looking forward for more amazing lessons this year.
Greetings from Romania,
Ionel
Happy – harping new year.
My main goal is to play the blues scale stable in different tempos and rhythm. And learn 1 new lick by heart each month.
ready to get started, Thanks for the help.
I also like old timey country low chugging sound on the harmonica on a low tuned harmonicas or any one of the harmonicas in any tuning enspecally. And my schedule is in early evening to practice my harmonica even when I am on the go afternoons sometimes. I am working in the morning s till noon on Monday Tuesday and Wednesday. So Friday or weekend is best for lessons. Thanks . Ms Tyler Jones
This is a great reminder to keep all on track. I’m an older dude (I mean really older) yet I have to be reminded of what I should be doing and when. And the best reminder is an accessible list with objectives, goals, etc.
Thanks Tomlin
Iwhould like to play my harp @ guitar togather in a jam
Hi Tomlin,
Thank you for your lessons, I have to say they are very comphensive and I am enjoying practicing.
Reference my ‘goals’ for 2018 it is simple, to complete your beginners course without getting too depressed!
Somehow, the music I hear coming from you just does not sound like my noise! But, as I only pick up the harmonica just before Christmas give it some time and of COURSE PRACTICE! Hopefully I can keep to it and improve.
Have a brill 2018 yourself and once again thank you.
Best wishes
Clive.
Thank you Tomlin for your energy and guidance…sadly I wasnt able to down load the worksheetsbut I do appreciate that you teach with a patient
tolerance…I will continue to follow aas best I can…by the way I also treated my self to a Suzuki Manji…its beautiful…respectfully submitted
First of all, thanks so much for the lessons. My goal is to memorize the 12-bar blues scale and then use it to improvise over a backing track.
I have 3 main goals for the new year and beyond:
Learn to IMPROVISE over a variety of songs, blues and non blues
Learn NEW SONGS
Have FUN
Here are some steps I plan to follow:
Continue Tomlin’s harmonica school, Intermediate then Advanced Intermediate. Don’t know where that will go except in the right direction.
Take an online music improv course (not specific to harmonica)
Set aside time to work with the backing tapes
Find musicians to jam with
Have a evolving list of songs I have learned and a list of songs I want to learn
Try to learn a new song every 1 -2 weeks depending on travel and busyness
Possibly attend a workshop like the Hill Country Harmonica workshop in May (not too far from where I live)
Since I am a “Newbie”, my primary goal is to be able to play accompaniment to someone playing or singing.
I am having a problem with bending, therefore that is my second goal
I play at my local blues jams and open mic nights. My goal for 2018 is to develop my playing style so that I am less repetitive in my solos.
I want to learn to play Blues with backing tracks and then in a Blues’ jam session. I need to get the timing and rhythm of the 12-bar structure in my head. I then need to understand the Blues’ scale and the theory and practice of root note improvisation. Next, I want to perfect a few diverse riffs and to be able to play these in time to backing tracks with spontaneous and seamless improvisation (what I have tried so far is random and often ugly). Keys and positions – I understand the theory of this, but want to know how posted Internet tabs relate to positions … do I have to adapt them, or do they assume (generally) second position. And I want to do this one step at a time … learn to handle, say, second position well in Key of C before moving on to third position in Key of A. At the end of this first course, I want to be able to sit in at a Blues’s session and join in appropriately where I can. (I have been playing diatonic harmonica for almost two years now, can play many tunes to tabs, sometimes adapted, from harptabs.com, and am starting to bend).
Thanks Tomlin, my aim is small so far, i just want to be able to play something i like without “looking” by March 7 2018. (Im not sure what it is i like so far because im just starting out but i like your videos )
Hi Tomlin
Hope you had a great Christmas/New Year and Birthday. Last term I did your fantastic 12 Bar Blues in 12 weeks course. I have just watched your New Year Harmonica Resolution video and I know I want to sit in at a blues jam session, this is my goal for 2018. The nine micro lessons you suggest to achieve the big goal seem like a well structured progression from beginning to goal. I am not a complete beginner, and I am not up to intermediate standard. Committing to a regular and realistic practice schedule is something I need to work really hard at. I know it makes sense and indeed I advocate S.M.A.R.T. targets. Looking forward to learning more Harmonica.
Regards
Alec Wright
This is very helpful to break it down into specific steps to achieve goals. Thank you !
– being able to improvise would be awesome. It seems that I’m without any ideas when it comes to “making something up”; very very anoying, so that would have to be my goal for 2018; plus a few more :-))
Happy new year to you all!!
Hi Tomlin, happy new year to you. My current aims are to master the blues scale, the licks etc with lots of bends and then Midnight Cowboy on a C diatonic. Simples! ☺️
You are so helpful realistic teacher very much thank full to you. My 2018 Harmonica resolution is want to play at least 10 songs completely. Thank you.. 🙂
Play a song from start to finish. Really like your teaching style BTW.
i really enjoyed your lesson on Country blues style, vamping licks, and chugging /call and response , this is a style i would like to develop as a signature .. where to start..???
practice
practice
a bit more practice
Hey, i tried it a couple of times but i just keep on not pushing myself to try over and over again. I just end up listening to other playing it and admiring. I would like to be able to play one song from start to beggining – one of Muddy Waters.
Excellent resolution Bob! Keep me updated! T
Hi Jerry, Apologies for taking so long replying to you. My Intermediate program is only just ready for consumption. I’ll send you an email with all the details.
Best wishes,
Tomlin