“… A Part of Your Mouth”

A friend and student pointed me towards this short video on South London harp man Errol Linton (cheers Paddy).

It’s a great video and piece of history in it’s own right, but there’s a quote near the start which really resonates with me.

“I read in this blues harp book you’re supposed to start slowly … gradually it starts getting louder .. gradually it starts feeling like a part of your mouth.”

Errol Linton

I remember the first few times I started to feel like it was me who had control of the harmonica rather than the harmonica having control of me. This was way before I started taking a more structured approach to learning. It was in my old damp, dingy room in South Leeds and I was probably a few scrumpy’s in.

I was playing a chordal rhythm, dropping a few melody notes in here and there and it was like the harmonica was suddenly sounding like I thought it should. I was doing it almost without thinking about it. Nothing fancy or complex mind, but the sound I was making suddenly sounded like actual honest-to-goodness harmonica playing and not just like a fat bloke huffing and puffing.

It was one of the great “ah-ha!” or breakthrough moments when I realised I might actually be able to do this.

The path to learning a skill of any sort is littered with moments like these. As a rule they tend to occur when you’ve been feeling like you’re stuck in your current skill set, like you’re not advancing and you’re on the verge of giving up the whole crazy venture as a dumb idea. It’s the kind of moment that can unleash a torrent of enthusiasm and – if you’re lucky – elevate your playing to a new level.

So, I guess what I’m saying is when you’re frustrated don’t give up hope. All players go through this process of advancement and then what feels like stagnation. The good news is that it’s usually just when you feel you can’t do any more that you make your most significant breakthroughs. And for those that really want to play, that’s one of the best feelings there is.

Errol Linton is still playing and recording today. He’s the real deal. http://www.errollinton.com/