Winslow Yerxa is a widely known and respected harmonica player, teacher, and author. He has written, produced, and starred in many harmonica book and video projects, and provides harmonica instruction worldwide. In addition to teaching privately, he currently teaches at the Jazzschool in Berkeley, California.

Introduction 1

Part 1: So You Wanna Play Blues Harmonica? 7

Chapter 1: Connecting with the Blues 9

Chapter 2: Getting Your Harmonicas Together 17

Chapter 3: Deciphering the Code: A Blues Guide to Music Symbols 31

Part 2: Doin' the Crawl: Your First Harmonica Moves 55

Chapter 4: Breathing Life into the Harmonica 57

Chapter 5: Moving Around with Single Notes 73

Chapter 6: Creating Blues Harmonica Licks and Riffs 85

Chapter 7: Progressing Through the 12-Bar Blues 97

Part 3: Beyond the Basics: Getting Bluesy 119

Chapter 8: Working with the Low and High Registers of the Harmonica 121

Chapter 9: Modulating and Punctuating Your Sound 133

Chapter 10: Enriching Your Sound with Textures 145

Chapter 11: Bending Notes: A Classic Part of the Blues Sound 163

Part 4: Developing Your Style 201

Chapter 12: Playing in Different Keys on a Single Harmonica 203

Chapter 13: Working Your Blues Chops in First Position 211

Chapter 14: Accelerating the Blues with Third Position 223

Chapter 15: Playing Blues Chromatic Harmonica in Third and First Positions 235

Chapter 16: Playing Blues in Minor Keys 251

Chapter 17: Groovin' with Non-12-Bar Blues 263

Part 5: Taking It to the Streets: Sharing Your Music 273

Chapter 18: Developing Your Blues Repertoire 275

Chapter 19: Blues Harmonica Amplification: Making a Big Noise with a Tiny Little Thang 289

Part 6: The Part of Tens 307

Chapter 20: Ten Things to Know about Sharing Your Music with Others 309

Chapter 21: Ten Important Periods and Styles in Blues Harmonica History 321

Part 7: Appendixes 331

Appendix A: Tuning Layouts for All Keys 333

Appendix B: About the Website 339

Index 347