Synopsis:

How the Harmonica Can Make You More Playful (which is the WHOLE POINT of this book)

> WHILE YOU’RE PLAYING HARMONICA YOU CAN’T YELL AT YOUR KIDS OR YOUR DOG, AND YOU CAN’T FROWN.

FURTHERMORE, THE HARMONICA: • Is a self-contained pomposity-reducing unit • Keeps you from thinking too much about all the world’s bad news • Goes with any outfit, including chaps and a ten-gallon hat or darksunglasses, or all three—not to mention your evening gown. And (extra bonus) it will fit in the teensiest evening purse, too! • Can make train sounds • Is modestly priced, so you have money left over to buy an icecream cone • Will not allow anyone (including yourself ) to take you too seriously

Book Excerpt:

There are books that teach you how to play the harmonica, and there are countless self-help books about how to improve your attitude, reduce stress, and enjoy life. What’s missing is a book that combines these elements. Here’s a typical conversation you might hear at the water cooler:

Co-worker #1: I’m feeling so stressed. I wish I could enjoy life more.

Co-worker #2: I wish I knew how to play the harmonica!

Start playing the harmonica and those extra pounds will melt away. Your spirits will lift, and your life will be smooth and well-organized. Smokers will quit smoking, old people will feel young again, and young people will discover the meaning of life. Aches and pains, self-doubt, and nagging worries will be a thing of yesterday. You will make peace with your deadbeat brother-in-law, your golf game will improve, and you’ll find true love. Your salary will double and double again and you will be inundated with fabulous career choices. That toilet that won’t stop running will run no more. Continue to play and the world will experience an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity. And all because we’re learning to play.

How can this possibly be? Instead of answering this question, let’s look at several important reasons why you should learn to play the harmonica:

1. It will make you a little happier. You will discover new ways to have fun, and most of us need more fun in our lives.

2. The harmonica is unpretentious. You can even play it in your underwear. You can also play it in someone else’s underwear.

3. It’s inexpensive and low-tech. There’s not much point in standing around with your buddies staring at your harmonica, admiring its curves and shine and discussing what year it was made. No—it’s all about the music.

4. Playing the harmonica will force you to let go of preconceived notions about music, art, performance, status, accomplishment, appearances, formality, beauty, and education.

5. I don’t have a fifth point to make, but it looks good to have more than four of these.

You don’t need a special talent to learn to play the harmonica. You don’t need an exceptional sense of melody, or rhythm, or fabulous wind power. You don’t need to read music or understand music theory. All you need is the desire and a harmonica. Passionate emotions like desire sometimes get a bad rap because we think they might get us in trouble. But desire is also a sure sign of vitality. 

Write Your Own Blues Song

> MANY BLUES CONSIST OF A THREE LINE VERSE, known as the“complaining, complaining again, then complaining some more” form.

1. So the singer might sing: My woman up and left me, she took the kids and the truck

2. Then the first line is repeated:My woman up and left me, she took the kids and the truck

3. Now the singer has to come up with a third line that rhymes: Don’t know what to do ’cause I miss that truck so much

Now you try it. What if the first (and second) line is: I woke up this morning, blues all around my head/I woke up this morning, blues all around my head

You could say lots of things, as long as they end with something that rhymes with “head.” (Sometimes they don’t even bother rhyming, but at How to Play headquarters we have standards.) What about:

Couldn’t remember if your name was Bill or Fred OR

We were all out of bagels so I had to have toast instead OR

My wife stole the covers and kicked me out of bed OR

The dog ate my homework and I might as well be dead

Now you come with some third lines, or go ahead and write an entire verse by yourself. You might need to drink some whiskey and do some hard livin’ first. Or, you can watch a movie about people doing that and save yourself a lot of trouble.

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Author Comment:

This book could change your life. Or not.

Topics/Categories:

Harmonica, How-to, Humor, Inspiration, Playfulness

Genre:

General Humor, Humor, Music

Type of Work:

Book

Publishers:

Gibbs Smith, Publisher

Original Publish Date:

September 1, 2009

Publishing Notes:

“We should all stop and smell the roses, but as Sam Barry notes in this cheery and inspiring little book, stopping to make a little music is just as rewarding and much more fun—and you can do it indoors! A wonderful read.”—Mitch Albom, author of For One More Day “How to Play the Harmonica captures the soul of great harp players like Little Walter, tosses in a dash of Will Farrell’s antics, and serves it up for readers everywhere to enjoy.”—James McBride, author of Song Yet Sung “Reading this fine, funny, and inspiring little book reminded me of the first time I picked up a harmonica. I couldn’t put it down.”—Ben Fong-Torres, author of Not Fade Away “Thanks to this book I have lost twenty pounds, remembered where I left my car keys in l986, and, no, I have not yet mastered the mouth harp, but I no longer hum tunelessly, which has saved my marriage.”—Roy Blount Jr., author of Alphabet Juice “This book makes starting out on the harmonica fun—and makes life a little more fun, too. Harmonically yours,”—Lee Oskar

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