Announcements – Harp Surgery

Joe Filisko Special : Tue 24.Feb, 7.00pm (UK)

February 11, 2026 The Good Doctor

DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE SOUTH LOUISIANA HARP STYLES WITH JOE FILISKO
We are delighted to welcome Joe Filisko to our Tuesday night Zoom sessions and hope you can join us too! Joe will be teaching us how to add some Cajun and South Louisiana spice to our playing.

HOW TO JOIN US…
Schedule : Tuesday 24th Feb 7.00-8.30pm (UK)
Platform : Zoom
How to sign up : To receive our unique Zoom link please transfer £8.00 in advance by clicking here paypal.me/harpsurgery. Please ensure you include your name, email address and mobile number in the ‘What’s this payment for?’ window. UK attendees can also bank transfer their session to Richard Taylor / 04-00-75 / 18169821 / Revolut. When making a bank transfer please be sure to follow up with an email containing your mobile number too. You can reach the Harp Surgery through our website Contact page.

What to bring
You’ll need Richter diatonic harmonicas in the key of C, D and G major.

Technical advice
Please activate ‘Background Sound for Musicians’ if you want us to hear your harmonica. You will find this in Zoom’s Audio Settings. Once activated you can then turn the feature on and off from your home screen.

While on Zoom
Please remain muted while our session is in progress, but feel free to raise questions in the chat facility. Please also observe civil social protocols and note that the Harp Surgery has a policy of inclusion, diversity and equality. Written or verbal obscenity, and discriminatory, disparaging or demeaning remarks will not be tolerated. Infringement of this policy will result in dismissal from the session. Political comment should also be avoided. Thank you for your co-operation and understanding.

Can I record our workshop?
Owing to intellectual copyright, personal audio and video recording of our workshop is not permitted. We do however reserve the right to record our own session for use by absentee subscribers, in which case you have the option to mute your video screen.

Enquiries
Please contact Richard Taylor using the details on our website Contact page.

Harmonica Lessons Available Online

March 17, 2025 The Good Doctor

Online harmonica lessons are available to fit your timeframe, musical learning needs and budget. We’ll run some initial checks to assess your current skills and ability level, then map out a pathway of exercises and study pieces to expand your capabilities and repertoire.

Your learning pathway can incorporate a range of styles from blues, country and Americana, to folk, rock, pop and jazz.

Why not take the plunge? Just visit the Contact page and let me know your thoughts. I look forward to helping you achieve your goals.

Isolating Single Notes

December 31, 2024 The Good Doctor

This information is given from a lip-pursed embouchure perspective, but may be useful for other embouchures. Audio files are based on a 10 hole diatonic harmonica in C major.

Newcomers to the harmonica can find it difficult to play accurate single notes. Which is understandable – there isn’t much to aim at and the concepts of an airtight embouchure, good intonation and diaphragmatic breathing have yet to be explored. Ultimately everyone will develop their own approach to capturing single notes and some will find success sooner than others. However, if you are finding this skill elusive don’t give up. It is not that you will never do it; you just can’t do it yet. Give it time and you will get it. Let’s run through a few ideas that may help in your quest for isolating single notes.

Airtight
For the best tone and accuracy, first we need to eliminate any leakiness. This means placing your lips right round the mouth piece, with the corners of your mouth supportive but not rigid, and lips pushed slightly forward but not stiff. And drop that jaw. Remember also that each hole has the comb and dividers framing it. Your target area is nearly twice as wide as your eyes will tell you and pushing the harmonica into your lips will actually improve your accuracy, airtightness and tone.

Posture
Next you should remember to relax your posture. This includes your shoulders, neck, jaw and tongue. Make sure you’re not slumped or leaning on elbows either, as this compromises deep breathing from your diaphragm. If your cheeks are puffing in and out as you play, this also means you are not moving warm air from deep down in your abdomen and your tone will suffer as a consequence. Read more

In Memorium – Mark Hughes of Split Rivvit

June 9, 2023 The Good Doctor

Dear Harp Surgery, I’m Mark Hughes’ sister Isobel. It’s been over 20 years since he died, and there is still rarely a day that passes without me thinking of him. Today would have been his 65th birthday. It’s heartwarming to read about Mark and the rest of the the band, bringing back the happier memories.

My siblings and I have only a couple of photos of Split Rivitt, so I was excited to read that Charlie has lots (hi Charlie!) – it would be wonderful to have some copies. I hope all is well with you, Dave W, Chris and Dave L. It would be lovely to hear from you. Isobel x

Thanks for your message Isobel – here’s some footage from the BBC’s Nationwide programme back in the day, featuring Mark in the studio with Johnny Mars, Mark Feltham and Skid Stuart. Sending you love and best wishes from everyone at the Harp Surgery.

If anyone has any memorabilia we can add to our Split Rivitt archive, please message us through our contact page. Harp Surgery visitors can enjoy the Split Rivitt archive here.

Richard Teaching Harmonica Live On The Radio

March 6, 2023 The Good Doctor

Early on Friday morning at this year’s Harpin’ By The Sea harmonica festival, Richard Taylor, launched proceedings in the company of BBC Radio Sussex reporter Hanna Neter.

Hanna was challenged by Breakfast Show host Alison Fearns to learn and perform her first ever harmonica tune live on air. Richard and Hanna duly got to work and within half an hour Hanna was playing When The Saints Go Marching In! You can hear what everyone got up to right here…

If you’d like to learn the harmonica for yourself, or improve your existing skills, contact Richard Taylor now. Details of lessons are right here.

Hohner PentaHarp

December 27, 2021 The Good Doctor

The harp beginner’s and guitarist’s new friend
The PentaHarp has finally reached the UK and we have been busy putting it through its paces. With an attractive electric blue ABS comb, the PentaHarp is essentially a special tuning in a Special 20 shell. An addition to Hohner’s Progressive Series, it comes in a sturdy flip-top box and is packaged in an eye catching outer carton featuring Nashville singer song-writer, Payton Taylor. The packaging explains:

“The PentaHarp simplifies the harmonica by giving players easy access to one of the most useful scales in rock and blues music without the need for advanced techniques. The tonal layout is the Blues Scale, which is a Minor Pentatonic scale with the added ‘blue’ note. Create expressive melodies and solos quickly and easily, and never play a wrong note!”