Harmonica Lessons

Minnix Music offers harmonica lessons for all ages. Willy Minnix has been playing harmonica for over 30 years, and specializes in teaching people how to play quickly. Most students leave the first day able to play simple songs.

What Styles Can I Learn?

Willy has played in a wide variety of bands covering many styles including blues, rock, country, gospel, and jazz, in addition to being classically trained. You can be sure that whatever style you want to learn to play, Willy can get you there! Most people want to learn harmonica in second position, also called "cross harp," style. Willy is well versed in "cross harp," "straight harp," and even "3rd position" harp for minor songs. He does not teach chromatic harp, however, but can get you started if you really want to study chromatic harp techniques. Many of the techniques you learn from the other types of harmonica can be used with chromatic also.

What kind of harmonica do I need?



Willy is not a harmonica snob, and will help you work with whatever harmonica brand you want to use. He prefers Hohner Marine Band, Special 20's and Blues Harps, but also uses Big River and Blue Midnight harps from Hohner as well. He also uses Lee Oskar harps. Whatever harmonica brand you prefer is fine, but you need at least a "diatonic" harmonica in the key of C.


Some people like to start by purchasing a combo pack of cheap harmonicas, such as the Piedmont pack or Hoodoo Blues, or Blues Band from Hohner for around $25. Willy recommends that you save your money, buy one good Marine Band, Special 20 or Blues Harp, for $35-50 and forget the cheap ones. Often the reeds on the cheap ones are hard to bend, and it makes playing aggravating. Do yourself a favor, don't get the cheap harmonicas, and buy your harps one at a time (if you need to save money,) or else buy the Marine Band, Special 20 or Blues harp packages. They are much more expensive, but they will not disappoint you in the long run.


What do I need to Bring?

Most people find the following items useful for music lessons:
A notebook
Colored Pencils, Pens or Markers
A Pencil
3x5 cards to make flash cards
A smart phone if you have one (to record or video technical details, and to look up chord charts)

Other items that are not essential, but helpful:
Songbooks or chord charts - you do not need to buy songbooks unless there is a particular artist that you really want to study, you can open up chord charts from sites like www.ultimate-guitar.com.

How much do lessons cost?

Willy teaches primarily half hour lessons, and they are $25 per lesson. Monthly payments for lessons are made at the first lesson for each month.

What do I do if I miss a lesson?

Willy is vary gracious and tries to work up a makeup date, so you do not lose the money you paid for the month. As long as you give Minnix Music 24 hours notice, we will do everything we can to help you make up your time. We also sometimes offer back to back lessons the following week, if the time slot is available, if you need to miss one week, and you can't make it up on a later date the same week.

How often should I practice? 

Because learning an instrument is a matter of not only understanding the knowledge of how music and instruments work, but also relies heavily on muscle memory, we recommend that you spend at least 20 minutes everyday practicing.

Is there a secret to becoming a great musician? 

Yes, practice. And listening to A LOT of music. You can only become as good as you allow yourself to be influenced. In order to gain a wide variety of influence, you need to inundate yourself with a lot of music. Listen to as many musicians as you can, and try to imitate them to learn how to play your instrument.