Author: The Good Doctor

Announcements 

Richard Teaching Harmonica Live On The Radio

The Good Doctor 0 Comments

Early on Friday morning at this year’s Harpin’ By The Sea harmonica festival, Richard Taylor, launched proceedings in the company of BBC Radio Sussex reporter Hanna Neter.

Hanna was challenged by Breakfast Show host Alison Fearns to learn and perform her first ever harmonica tune live on air. Richard and Hanna duly got to work and within half an hour Hanna was playing When The Saints Go Marching In! You can hear what everyone got up to right here…


If you’d like to learn the harmonica for yourself, or improve your existing skills, contact Richard Taylor now. Details of lessons are right here.

Harp Tips 

1st Position Blues Harp – An Introduction (Part 1)

The Good Doctor 6 Comments , , ,

Harps and Guitar 1A guide to straight blues harping

No force, however great, can stretch a cord, however fine, into a horizontal line which is accurately straight. Elementary Treatise On Mechanics (William Whewell)

The classic blues harmonica journey starts with a crusade to the Holy Shrine of cross harp. Whereupon, straight harp (normally in the guise of Oh Susannah) is swiftly abandoned. Drunk on the glories of success, and soon lavishly equipped with assault amplifiers and bullet microphones, the crusade continues.

New techniques are won – including tongue blocking, vibrato, blow bends and third position blues – before a dark specter looms like a cloud on the horizon; the ghost of first position past. It’s been neglected for too long and now it’s broken our serenity, and it’s raining torment. Here’s how to make amends…

Listen to

(more…)

Interviews 

Mitt Gamon Interview – Part 1

The Good Doctor 0 Comments , , , ,

Strawberrieds and Cream iIt was a humid summer’s day. Beyond the duck pond, the Rear Admiral’s mower muttered to itself and occasionally spat stones at his prizewinning parade of pink floribunda. Next to the Tickled Trout, a canopy of elder flowers floated in the warm breeze, while hover flies patrolled the cow parsley below, pretending to be bees. In the harp surgery kitchen, the Good Doctor was preparing cordials and halving strawberries for afternoon tea. He flourished sugar across the fruit from a shallow silver spoon. ‘How many songbirds fly to and fro, in an English country ga-ar… what the?’ A manilla envelope boomeranged through the window, clipped his ear and skidded to a halt on the kitchen table. The sugar spoon fell to the floor.

Listen to

(more…)

Harp Tab How Do They Do That? 

Norton Buffalo Navigates Four Key Changes

The Good Doctor 4 Comments , , , , , ,

Norton & BonnieDo not pass GO
Greasy Rob, Otis the mailman, Stomping Stu and the Doc were deeply engrossed in a Friday night game of Monopoly. A pot of Rington’s Tea steamed away beside Otis, the evening’s banker and custodian of a premium biscuit assortment. Otis had hotels on the green home straight, Rob had all four railway stations, and the Doc had a strong collection of reds and pinks.

Stu, meanwhile, was on skid row. “I’d have more luck playing Bonopoly’, he grumbled. ‘What on earth is that?’, quizzed the Doc. ‘Same as Monopoly, but the streets have no name,’ replied Stu, preparing to mortgage his Water Works. (more…)

Announcements Reviews - Harps 

Hohner PentaHarp

The Good Doctor 8 Comments , , , ,

The harp beginner’s and guitarist’s new friend
The PentaHarp has finally reached the UK and we have been busy putting it through its paces. With an attractive electric blue ABS comb, the PentaHarp is essentially a special tuning in a Special 20 shell. An addition to Hohner’s Progressive Series, it comes in a sturdy flip-top box and is packaged in an eye catching outer carton featuring Nashville singer song-writer, Payton Taylor. The packaging explains:


“The PentaHarp simplifies the harmonica by giving players easy access to one of the most useful scales in rock and blues music without the need for advanced techniques. The tonal layout is the Blues Scale, which is a Minor Pentatonic scale with the added ‘blue’ note. Create expressive melodies and solos quickly and easily, and never play a wrong note!”

(more…)

Announcements 

Harmonica Lesson Gift Vouchers

The Good Doctor 0 Comments , , , , , , ,

Birthday VoucherSimple Gifts
If you need a special Christmas or Birthday gift for your aspiring harmonica player, look no further. Whether it’s for a particular occasion or just for fun, everyone enjoys a special surprise. Pay for the lesson in advance and we will email you a Harp Surgery gift voucher.

Need a harmonica too?
We can supply you with a harmonica to help get things underway too. Visit our harmonica store page and select the best harp for your budget. If you’re unsure which one to go for, email us and we’ll be happy to lend some advice.

Harmonica Gift Cards
If you need a card to go with the voucher, let us know and we’ll mail one to you.

Price list
Christmas VoucherLesson prices are on our lessons page (Services Menu). You can opt for private 1:1 lessons here at the Harp Surgery, or a virtual lesson on Zoom. Lessons are 1 hour. If you’d like a course of lessons, a discounted rate is available and we can customise your voucher accordingly.

Terms and conditions
Your first lesson must be taken within 6 months of the date of purchase. Remaining lessons must be used at a rate of one (or more) per consecutive month thereafter. For faster development we recommend booking lessons at fortnightly or weekly intervals. We regret that vouchers are non-refundable.