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The Howard Levy Harmonica School
The Howard Levy Harmonica School
Date Posted: September 16 2010
Written By: Mike Stephen
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Howard Levy is no doubt one of the best harmonica players on the planet. Many aspiring harp virtuosos have been lucky enough to take lessons from him. I remember a few lessons I had with Howard in the living room of his Evanston, IL home. But what if you live in a place like Washington state, Maine, Japan, or Germany and would like to study with the master of the instrument? Thanks to modern technology, Howard Levy knows no geographical bounds.
The Howard Levy Harmonica School
The Howard Levy Harmonica School is an online school for teaching harmonica technique. It requires a membership ($60 for three months- a great deal considering an hour in-person lesson with Howard costs closer to $100) and is well worth every penny.
The site is a virtual harmonica community and offers resources specifically for harp players of all levels. Beginners, intermediate and advanced harp players will find the site engaging and challenging. Howard has recorded tons of video lessons where he thoroughly discusses various harp techniques and approaches. As a harp player for many years, I found it refreshing to take a look at the basic instruction videos he has posted on the site before I moved on to more advanced lessons.
Howard takes advantage of the digital age by encouraging students to record themselves practicing the harmonica and sending those videos to him via the site. Subsequently, Howard replies to that student by posting a video of his own where he offers advice, critiques, and tips on how to improve as a musician. These videos are available for all members of the school to see. Not only are you benefiting from personalized web lessons from Howard, but you can also pick up tons of great information by browsing through his other video responses.
Another great resource on the site is the availability of backing tracks. It's great to hear how the techniques you learn from the virtual lessons sound against a virtual backing band. From country to blues to rock, there is an array of tracks to utilize while practicing.
If you're an experienced harp player or if you just picked up the instrument, definitely check out Howard's online harmonica school. I've never seen a site like it and I'm always excited to log on and journey down new musical paths. You will be too.
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