Beginning Harmonica
- Blues
- In-Person Classes
- Instrumental
- Jazz
- Pop
- Rock
THIS IS AN IN-PERSON CLASS
This class is designed for newcomers to the harmonica, regardless of prior musical knowledge. Our focus will be on practicing fundamental blues and folk techniques, with an overview of the history and theory that goes into them. You’ll be able to wail in no time!By the end of this class, you will be able to…
effectively use your breath, hands, lips, tongue, and throat to produce solid, steady notes and chords from the harmonica
use close listening to repeat melodies/rhythms by ear
read/use harmonica tablature (and just a liiiiiittle bit of music notation)
visualize a “mental map” of the notes on the harmonica, and navigate it in first and second positions (“straight harp” and “cross harp”)
recognize, and improvise over, the 12-bar blues song form
Requirements* A 10-hole diatonic harmonica in the key of C* Your enthusiasm and openness!
Class Schedule
Thursdays: Oct. 30, Nov. 6, 13, 20, Dec. 4
Time: 6:30-7:45pm ET
Location: Passim School of Music, 26 Church Street, Cambridge, MA(Classrooms are located on the third floor; unfortunately, there is no elevator.)
Ages: 18+
Please Note:Pre-sales are highly encouraged! Online sales end 2 hours before the class begins. Tickets may be available at the door. A minimum of 4 students is required for the class to run. If canceled due to low enrollment, you will be notified and receive a full refund.
Elise Brown
Elise Brown is a multi-instrumentalist and educator based in Jamaica Plain. By day, they teach high school history — by night, they play a combination of vocals, guitar, ukulele, bass, and harmonica in the Goddamn Brass Band, a project of the Fork & Shoe Theatre Cooperative. Elise has been giving private harmonica lessons to newcomers for over a decade, and as a teacher, they have been praised for their infectious enthusiasm and their ability to make complex ideas feel accessible and exciting. In addition to playing in GDBB, Elise also plays in Harpageddon (Annie Raines’ harmonica ensemble at Passim), frequently sits in with local folk-rock duo Think Twice, and hangs out at blues, R&B, and jazz jams across Greater Boston.
Elise has been playing diatonic harmonica (“blues harp”) since they were a teenager in an Oregon suburb. Initially inspired by Bob Dylan, they went down the rabbit hole of his influences and eventually became an acolyte of Little Walter, James Cotton, Sonny Terry, and Paul Butterfield, as well as more recent players such as Indiara Sfair and Christelle Berthon. At Wellesley College, where Elise double-majored in political science and music, they were the jazz program’s first (and so far, only) blues harp player! Since then, they’ve taken lessons and workshops from harp innovators including Catriona Sturton, Jason Ricci, Annie Raines, Ronnie Shellist, and Shane Sager, and they’re thrilled that at Passim, they get to share some of that wealth of knowledge with new players. Elise is also passionate about building solidarity among fellow LGBTQ+ musicians, and they have become one of the loudest voices in the harmonica community speaking out against queerphobia and transphobia.
