In a recent Zoom harmonica lesson, we were looking at how to play Amazing Grace by ear. Why learn a tune by ear? I mean, you could just look up the tab, right? Shoot, you could even look it up right here on my website.
But you don’t always have the tab in front of you, and it’s really nice to be able to just pull out the harmonica on a walk and find a tune. I’m not really talking about memorizing the tune – I actually recommend learning to find tunes by ear.
In this video, I give you a quick outline of Amazing Grace, breaking it down into four parts, so you’ll have a few landmarks when working it out. If you take some time to try this process, it gets faster, and the next tune is easier.
And ok, ok, I used Low D, a weird harp that not everybody has. Amazing Grace is easiest to play if you aim for holes 6 – 9, which is pretty darn high on a C harp. Using a low harp makes it sound less shrill. Get a Low D! It’s great for learning fiddle tunes, and at an Irish session, it puts you in the fiddle range rather than the tin whistle range.
Want Zoom harmonica lessons? Send me an email or give me a call. Cheers!