Generally people give up on new things because they are lazy, shiftless, no good slobs or that\'s what they think when they don\'t stick to some new regimen. But it\'s not laziness that makes give up. It\'s an attitude. How can you add the new thing harmonica playing, for instance and keep at it? There are two tricks. One is finding a way to make the time, even if it\'s just fifteen minutes a day, which is how long it takes to order a special coffee drink or smoothie. Fifteen minutes a day is probably as much as most busy adults can manage, and the good news is fifteen minutes a day will get you there. In fact, it will get you there faster than two hours once a week. But the biggest trick is to forgive yourself. If you forget to practice for a day or two, just start up again. Get back on that horse and ride. Or that hog.

Practicing the Regular Way Get your harmonica. Play a scale, play the songs you\'re working on. Carefully put your harmonica away. Practicing the Playful Way with apologies to Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster Take your harmonica out of your dirty red bandanna. Start playing soft while Bobby sings the blues. Hold Bobby\'s hand in yours while the windshield wipers slap in time. Sing every song that driver knows. Remember freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose. Try playing the blues riff below five times a day until you can play it without looking at the note. The more you can play without referring, the better. Or your choice of songs may be different. Perhaps you might try \"Down in the Valley,\" \"Red River Valley,\" a holiday song like \"Jingle Bells,\" a Christmas song like \"Silent Night,\" or a Hanukkah song like \"The Dreidel Song.\" Maybe you\'ll start off making up your own songs. You need to give yourselves permission to have fun. Some people start out enjoying themselves but then lose patience with what they keep as personal limitations. If you have this tendency, then you need to be kinder to yourself. Imagine that you are a child maybe yourself as a child maybe you are a child? Anyhow, hold yourself to a realistic standard one that encourages accomplishment, but not one that compares you in an unfavorable light to an unattainable goal.

Make your practice play. There is no separation between the two it is all play. Try not to worry about performing, unless imagining that you are performing is fun for you. Even if you are just trying to learn to play a single note on the harmonica, you are making music. Listen to yourself and trust yourself. You\'ve been hearing music all your life you know this language. There are lots of ways to enhance this sense of enjoyment setting goals and achieving them working in a group using the practice as a form of therapy pretending you are Sonny Boy Williamson. Ultimately, it doesn\'t matter what motivates you it may change over time as long as you keep going. If possible, play every day. If you stop, don\'t be hard on yourself just start up again as soon as possible. The more you practice, the more playing will become your practice, like a spiritual discipline. The more you play, the more the skill will become a part of you, something you own and that owns you, enhancing your life and connection to other people.


By Alex Wess harmonica guru who helped hundreds of people with tips and advices.