"It is obvious that Tony is a professional educator. He has laid the site out to be very user friendly. You really feel like you are taking a journey into a true place of higher education. Which of course it is! What higher calling could you be pursuing than to become a proficient player on the diatonic harmonica...."
Review on harp-l by Warren Bee USA
Click here for the whole review
"Hello and happy new year! I've suscribed last week to your wonderful website. I'm a "pro" french Blues harp player (www.myspace.com/thomastroussier) and I thanks you so much for the new way to play that you offers to me. I learn a lot because I never studied scales, harmony....before! I discover a new approch of the harp and I just want to THANKS YOU"
Tom Troussier
Leading French Blues Harmonica Player
"I discovered this super concise and melodic bluegrass harmonica player with a touch of the irish!! His playing is exceptionally concise and musical. I recommend his music highly."
Randy Singer
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Leading Jazz Chromatic Player
I've explored Tony's Harmonica Academy at http://www.HarmonicaAcademy.com and was very impressed. Very well organized, easy to navigate, professionally laid out, and it offers different types of guidance, including jam tracks for blues and hip hop (Band In a Box), harmonica exercises with tabs with sound clips, and informative articles.
If you play blues, country, old-timey or bluegrass on diatonic, I strongly suggest you visit this site, created by one of the best bluegrass harmonica players I've heard. Even as a chromatic player, I found Tony's insights valuable.
David Naiditch
USA
Leading Bluegrass Harmonica Player
I took a good look around your site and I really like what you've done. It's well worth the money you're asking--you've clearly worked hard and done a thoroughly professional job.
Ron Good
Canada
"Black Mountain Harmonica is a relentless acoustic onslaught of wonderful sparkling traditional fiddle music played with consummate skill and competence"
John McDougall
"Woodstock", Australia
"WOW! Can't believe it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I have a cd of you and it rocks!My teacher tried to give me some stuff of you (but still have to practice a lot before playing something that sounds "like" that), we bought the disc through internet cause in argentina there isn't this kind of things!It's awesome!You are an excellent harp player and I'm a great fan of you!!!!!!!!"
Wadi Jalil Maluf
Argentina
"I recently signed up on our 2 year programme and find it extremely helpful and frankly just about the only programme that deals with the subject in an organized way"
Geoff Barrett
Canada
"Your lessons are clear, concise and extremely effective. Priced right (for us po'folk)."
Gary Byrd
USA
Your website is fantastic I have learned much from it and I have not completed it. I expect to learn so much more.
Keith Newberry
USA
I have so enjoyed your lessons and the site. I am almost ready to go to the next level of songs and feel comfortable in my progress.
Katie Kee
USA
First i want to tell you that i'm really satisfied with this course. I've been trying to learn harmonica playing for some time so i am not a pure beginner, but this course gave me a new start.
Svein Lars Kroken
Norway
I just wanted to send you a short note to let you know how much I am enjoying my subscription to the Harmonica Academy. You have done a great job of putting this course together, and I have already recommended it to two other new harmonica players.
Chuck Fehl
USA
I joined harmonica academy recently after reading your articles in Harmonica World. I've been playing for some time but I'm always up for learning new stuff. Your material is gr8. Thanks for the help.
Liam Kealy
UK
I just started Harmonica Academy a month or so ago, and I already know quite a bit more than I expected. Also, the lessons so far are wonderfully done and very helpful, with the pictures and music accompanying them. I just want to say, even though I've only just started this journey, thank you very much!
Josh Caldwell
USA
Just downloaded and listened to your CD. You are truly amazing! My dad was born in County Cork, IR so I grew up with the Clancy Bros, Dubliners, Sarah Makem, Paddy Tunney, etc. Your playing brought me back to those years. I'm in awe of your speed and breath control. I just started the course and trying to find my starting point since I have been tinkering with the harp for a few years. I thought I was only interested in blues but listening to your foot stomping tunes I think I might TRY and persue fiddle tunes as well. I just wanted to say thanks so much for putting together the course and especially for the free download of your GREAT CD.
Alan Lyons
USA
Thanks very much for this new set of blues backing tracks. I reached the final phase of "Junior Year" and the beginning of "Senior Year" in the Academy´s Site. As a matter of fact, I have been playing everyday with the Blues backings you offer and also with other ones available online. I confess, I have not managed yet to record myself playing and send you a mail. I´ll hope to manage to do it some day. As for the great success of the Academy´s Site, I hereby send you my congratulations, since it is the first time I have been learning a musical instrument for sure. I remember you that I learned the cello during my youth, but I never played anything worth. Now, for the first time, I enjoy what I play, as some friends also do.
Filipe Mesquita
Portugal
I really appreciate your website. The explanations are so simple. Now I've got the tools to play Blues and Irish tunes.
Thanks from Quebec, country of reels and jigs.
Claude Tanguay
Canada
An excellent resource for anyone wishing to learn to play the harmonica through online lessons, the site is well set out with sequential lessons which are easy to follow, particularly with the assistance of the online audio samples. There are a lot of useful free areas and a subscription gives students access to all lessons and resources, including a members’ forum. Navigation of the site is easy; with the Study aids area providing backings in Blues and hip hop tracks that allow students to jam along. The site has syllabus application for the teaching of blues and improvisation in jazz.
Review in "Scan"
Vol 65 28 No 3 August 2009
Australia
I'm a freshman student and am having a great time following your lessons. By the way I have taken years of lessons on other instruments. I tried once before to play harmonica with books and tapes--with no results. It is so useful to go along at the detailed level you teach at. Also, what a pleasure to be part of a learning community.
Richard Groomer
USA
I have to say thank you thank you so many times. You are terrific educator. This is what I was looking for. Easy to understand, clear, and well organized...... Learning harmonica using this program is much better than take lessons from pro. I'm really satisfied with this program. I payed for two years lesson. It is money worth. Thank you again!!
Julie Hiromi Iso
USA
I am enjoying your tuition enormously. Having never played an instrument and always having wanted too, your site is really inspiring. Thank you I'm hooked and will be back. My first jam with the office band is this coming week....... a little nervous but determined.....
Julian Conrad
Australia
Just got this and blasted through the Freshman stage, I've been attempting this only for a few months. I'm glad I started from the beginning because I definitely picked up some good points I would have missed. I'm now on the Sophmore stage and am in sponge mode. Really glad I purchased this and your music download alone was a really pleasant surprise.
LennyMO
Based in Germany
I am pretty excited about learning to play. I have always wanted to. I looked at alot of websites liked yours the best.
Don
USA
hi tony, really enjoy your harmonica academy and the way you structured the lessons.
Peter Almeroth
USA
I am new to the harmonica family and have searched around a little on the web. You have made a heaven for us hopeful harmonica players. I am 64 and retired. Have always had some from of music, first drums from 14 years to a few years ago and I went through a lot of Lowery organs and keyboards, then guitars. I had given that up for various reasons but still had the urge or desire to make music. Saw the movie Australia where the old man was playing somewhere over the rainbow. Told my wife I wanted to learn harmonica. On Valentines day she game me a beginners harmonica with booklet. Not bad after 43 years . She knows me better than I do myself. Wow! The harmonica bug has bitten. I haven't enjoyed anything this much. Plus I have all the time I want to practice. Now about your site. I can't believe how well structured and planned you have all the lessons. Just the free lessons are powerful tools. By the price list you have I can tell you are definitely not trying to make any money. You are trying to give a gift to us hopefuls that money can't buy. The pleasure of making music. I am only waiting till the 1st of April when my retirement check comes in to sign up for the freshman year. I am very excited and anxiously waiting to start your lesson plan. Saying thank you will never cover the pleasure you have already given me and the happiness that will come with each new lesson. I am not a big fan of blues not that I don't admire the players and talent but I prefer the "fiddle tunes" especially those Irish tunes. I have already learnt whiskey in a jar and my wife loves it. I will probably never play for anyone but me or my wife and that is fine. I am doing this for the happiness it brings me. Not to say I would not hesitate to share with my family or friends it is just that my main reason is the feel the happiness that this type of music gives me. I have checked some of the other sites like JP Allen and he has a lot to offer but I don't think it is near the caliber of yours. I learned along time ago to try and learn from everyone who can teach you and always keep an open mind. You have an awesome site. Your harmonica buddy Tom West, Midwest City, Ok.
Tom West
USA
can't tell you how much i have enjoyed learning "Planxty Irwin"
Great job on your website and course..
Charles Royals
USA
I am pretty excited about learning to play. I have always wanted to. I looked at a lot of websites liked yours the best.
Don Farrell
USA
Hi Tony. I am really enjoying the course. I have a couple years of harmonica experience and took a few lessons a while back and can already bend notes, but I'm finding the step by step instruction, tips and backing downloads to be great resources. I'm also really glad you have the tunes sections, because I enjoy blues but really want to develop my harmonica skills with more traditional music as well.
Ben Cohen
USA
Hi Tony; I just wanted to say how extremely pleased I am with the content and layout of the Harmonica Academy website. I am a rank beginner and joined just yesterday. I overcooked a bit after the download , but with about 16 hours logged at this time, you have me doing things with a harmonica I thought I could never do. I'm 73 years old and learning to play a basic Harmonica has been on my "bucket list" for quite some time. Great Job Tony ! .. Thanks
Gord McKay
Canada
I would like to say this “wow”. I joined harmonica academy last Thursday and I am already playing the hip hop beats. I am 61 years old and I always wanted to learn how to play harmonica. What inspired me to learn was that I hike/camp, “Yosemite in California –USA” and other places. So I thought why not carry my harmonica with me on camping and hiking trips which I do and is a good companion also. I started playing harmonica about 6 months ago and can play couple songs and riffs. I was getting little frustrated about not finding good playable beats which I can play. So before joining harmonica academy I was little skeptic about it, but oh boy was I wrong, I am already playing Hip Hop Beats. Can’t get enough of the Beats, and I looked at the lessons they are very thorough and what I like is I can play along. It has brought back the excitement and fun of playing harmonica.
Harjinder Dhillon
USA
I am at freshmen blues lesson 10, and having a ball and actually sounding bluesy, for the 1st time ,been playing for about 10 years, half ass by my self,mostly diatonic and Chromatic harmonica melody line of songs.In Your program with your notes and backing I am doing something I have never been able to do Bend the notes,not perfectly but much better than at any time before .58 year old dog learning some real great new tricks !
Richard Bell
USA
Two years access to your lessons and free Black Mountain Harmonica CD for $39.95 is just too good. I have never played the harmonica nor have any musical background before I joined your academy less than 2 weeks ago. Just by spending a few hours daily going through the lessons from the beginning I can now play quite a few popular tunes by ear which I thought would require many months of practice. I am excited thinking what I can play at the end of two years. I would highly recommend the Harmonica Academy to anyone wishing to learn to play the harmonica. Thank you so much.
Francis
Australia
Your course is, by the way, the best I have ever come across. I've made more progress in a couple of weeks than in a life time of previous attempts at music.
Terry Lowndes
UK
I recently joined the Academy and I love it! Great lessons at a very affordable price. The only thing I could suggest to make it even better, would be to incorporate some videos into the lesson. I learn best by watching someone do it.That said, I love the tracks and the written instructions are very clear and easy to understand. Most harmonica lesson web sites charge at least $100.00 annually to join so we are very fortunate to have access to the Academy which has outstanding lessons and resources for a fraction of the cost!!!
Daniel Grummett
USA
Wow! You guys are amazing. I think I’ve come to the stage where I can continue my learning from your terrific harmonica program. You are far & away the best-organized teaching program around and I appreciate the world of harmonica enjoyment you’ve provided me.
Allen Johnson
USA