Harmonica

[Injured Soldier]

My little sister gave me a harmonica for Christmas, and my New Years resolution is going to be that I master it during the coming year. Well, OK, I know I won't master it, but at least get a decent sound out of it and make some good music. I've searched this forum for a topic on harmonicas, but there are none, does anyone here play? Any advice for a beginner?

Also another question if there are any expert harmonica players out there, I have a hohner plastic comb harmonica in C to practice on, but I can't get a decent sound on the 1 or 2 draw. The 1 draw sounds almost like a fog horn, and the 2 draw sounds wavery and partially muted. At the same time, the 9 and 10 blow sounds awfully high to me. Apart from that every other draw and blow sounds fine to me. I looked on the Lee Oskar Harmonicas website, and it said there are problems with these notes because they bend easily, but the solutions they give don't really fix my problem. So is there anyone out there who can give me tips on how to avoid this problem?

 

[Hands&Feet]

Harmonica should be considered an extenton of your emotions, your soul. If you have a C, ummm...its been a while...I am pretty sure you would play songs that are in the key of G. Listen to guys like John Mayall, Charlie Musslewhite. Any old blues stuff is a good place to start. They really have the soul. They are good at pitch bending and vibrato--both essential if youare going to be a good harp player.
I had a friend who started out that way and he could eventually play John Coltranes sax licks on it. We used to jam for hours on end. That is how we learned to play.

Some of those high notes are better left alone until you develop you technique a bit.
Don't try to cover any Blues Traveler tunes right of or you will get frustrated.
Good Luck.