10-Minute Chromatic Harmonica Practice Session

Inside the Practice Room: Sharing My Process

I have always felt that there is something deeply valuable about sharing the actual, raw process of practicing the harmonica. It is one thing to see a finished performance or edited instruction video, but it is another thing entirely to see the foundational work that makes the music possible.

Making this kind of content is something I have thought about doing for a long time. Growing up and developing as a musician, I often imagined how much I would have loved to see and hear my own musical heroes during their private practice hours. I used to think about what it would be like to sit in the room and watch legends like Toots Thielemans, Django Reinhardt, or Joe Pass as they worked through their ideas. Seeing how they approached the instrument when the cameras weren't rolling would have been an incredible learning tool.

In this new video, I invite you to join me for a 10-minute practice session on the chromatic harmonica. I wanted to keep it authentic to how I actually spend my time, so the session follows a specific flow:

Phase 1: Long notes (4 minutes)

I start with a C chromatic harmonica, beginning with two minutes of long notes on A-flat and B-flat at a medium volume. Long note practice is such a good foundation; I focus on adding a little vibrato and experimenting with different dynamics—from very soft (pianissimo) to loud and articulated. Doing these long notes exercises gives you tone control, pitch control and air flow stability.

It takes a lot of power and air, but it’s really fun. I move on to D-flat and E-flat in hole five, working from very soft to loud and back down again. It’s about building that full tone and control over the breath.

Phase 2: Arpeggio motion (2 minutes)

Next, I move into arpeggio motions to get more movement across the instrument. Lately, I’ve been loving a specific sound: a major 7th chord played starting from the 7th note (G, Ab, C, Eb).

In the video, I start in hole seven and move that arpeggio sequence down chromatically as low as the harmonica goes. The goal here is to play those intervals with a good, full tone, focusing on the relations between the notes as I navigate the instrument.

Phase 3: Free Play – "All the Things you are" (4 Minutes)

Finally, I spend the last few minutes playing a standard. I chose "All the Things You Are". I often play standards rubato because it allows you to really own the melody, spell out the chords, and put your own feeling into it without the pressure of keeping the tempo.

I start in the original key of Ab/Fm and focus on playing the melody straight, letting the technical work from the earlier part of the session come into the music.

A bit about the gear

You might notice the harmonica I’m using is a bit of a "mish-mash" of different parts. It’s built from Suzuki G-48 reed plates and a G-48 body, but with an SCX mouthpiece. Great combo! One of the great things about Suzuki harmonicas is that you can fit parts together from different harmonica models.

Join me for more

This video is just a glimpse into my routine. Even though I set out to do just 10 minutes, as you can hear in the video, I could easily play for many more hours.

If you find this helpful, I have been building a much larger resource for my jazz harmonica community. On my Patreon, you can now find a comprehensive video collection of these sessions, featuring around 3 hours of material that dives deep into my practice habits and musical philosophy.

I hope this gives you some inspiration for your own time with the instrument. Happy practicing!

Best,

Filip