Lust for the harmonica: Members of the Mile High Harmonica Club in Denver report how the small instrument has a huge impact

It is simply a small, elongated tube full of flexible metal tongues that vibrate when you blow into them.

But the members of the Mile High Harmonica Club in Denver seem to have endless joy in their instruments.

In addition to the fun of making music together, club members also credit the harmonica with improving their social lives, increasing their intelligence and even making breathing easier for people with lung diseases.

Founded in 1994, the Harmonica Club is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The club now has around 65 members, but originally started as a small group of enthusiastic students under the guidance of music teacher Paul Davies of Swallow Hill.

“The first meeting was officially at my house,” said Davies. “We all became very good friends.”

Today the Harmonica Club meets twice a month at Historic Grant Avenue, 216 S. Grant St., a former Methodist church built in 1908 that is now used as a community center.

Once a year, however, club members go on tour to attend a national convention with other harmonica enthusiasts from across the United States. This year, the Society For the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica (SPAH) convention will be held August 13-17 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Davies, former president of SPAH, said he expected “constant jamming”.

An invention from Germany catches fire

According to many accounts, the harmonica was invented in Germany in 1826 by instrument maker Christian Buschmann. The pocket-sized instrument is also called a Jew’s harp or mouth organ, although it doesn’t sound much like one. It is played by a combination of blowing and “pulling” (inhaling). The instruments are inexpensive and easy to learn. Knowledge of music notation is not required.

The new instrument was very popular. Soon there were a number of harmonica factories in Germany. From 1900 to the 1920s, German harmonicas flooded into the USA to meet the increasing demand.

Today, there is a diverse range of harmonicas in all shapes and sizes, large and small. The most well-known is the simple 10-hole diatonic harmonica, usually played in the key of C. It has a folksy, bluesy sound that is evident in the music of folk-rocker Bob Dylan, who once called it “the best-selling instrument in the world.”

The larger chromatic harmonica – favored by artist Stevie Wonder – produces far more notes and chords but is more difficult to learn. It is often used in jazz, classical and pop music.

Having too much fun

At a recent meeting of the Mile High Harmonica Club, a diverse group of male and female club members ranging in age from 24 to 94 performed both diatonic and chromatic instruments. The joy of making music was palpable. People sang along and applauded as different players took to the open mic and performed pieces as diverse as Al Jolson’s 1921 hit “April Showers” and Led Zeppelin’s 1971 rock classic “Stairway to Heaven.”

Jackson Campbell played his own composition, a lively piece reminiscent of Irish folk music. A quartet consisting of Gayla Michelin, Shawn Mass, Lee Taylor and Roger Bale played “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Wayne Diffy put his heart into “Elk River Blues,” a folk song about a man watching a new dam flood his old home.

Between numbers, Lloyd Williams showed off harmonica cases his daughter had knitted for him. Charter Club member Lee Taylor told an anecdote from his childhood when his little brother was banished to a closet for bad behavior. In the closet, the boy discovered a harmonica and began to play it. After serving his sentence, he refused to come out.

“He was having too much fun!” Taylor said.

Scott Paulding is the club’s president and chief harmonica enthusiast.

“I try to welcome everyone who comes to club meetings and encourage people to make music,” he said.

Paulding believes that the harmonica he acquired as a teenager had a major influence on him.

“I was definitely not musical,” he said, “but learning to play the harmonica rewired my brain.”

He might be on to something.

“Playing an instrument may be one of the best ways to keep your brain healthy,” said a recent post on the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine website, which reported that studies have found benefits for children — but also improvements in memory and cognitive abilities in people over 60.

Learning is a major focus of the club, Paulding said, whether it’s teaching beginners or helping experienced players improve their technique. Experience has taught him that without instruction, it’s difficult to progress.

Breathe easier with the harmonica

Paulding also teaches the technique when he visits the Harmonicats, a group of pulmonary rehabilitation patients at the Anschutz campus of the University of Colorado Medical Center in Aurora. Some patients come to the biweekly meetings with oxygen tanks in tow. All suffer from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) or other respiratory diseases.

Dean Hutto, a member of the Mile High Harmonica Club, played with the Harmonicats while recovering from a bilateral lung transplant.

“I went home after playing the harmonica and felt like I could breathe deeper,” he said. “Everyone in the group swears by it.”

He said the group plays many “campfire songs,” including “Michael Row Your Boat Ashore” and the Gaelic barn dance “Skip to My Lou.”

“It’s easier to learn if you already know the song,” he explained.

According to Alexandra Worl, director of pulmonary rehabilitation at UC Health, the lip braking required to play the harmonica helps relieve shortness of breath.

“When they practice harmonica during the week, they build muscle and integrate training into activities of daily living,” Worl said.

These musical gatherings also address another pressing problem: Many COPD patients isolate themselves because they fear the shortness of breath that occurs with even the simplest exertion, such as standing up, walking or climbing stairs.

Worl says the Harmonicats’ bi-weekly meetings are an important tool in combating this isolation.

“It improves the quality of life and interpersonal relationships,” she said. “And the old, familiar songs can remind you of your youth. It brings back wonderful memories.”

Back at the harmonica club meeting, Myron Wilson took the open mic and performed a soulful rendition of “America the Beautiful.”

He looked at his two large chromatic harmonicas with something resembling adoration.

“Here I am, 60 years old,” he said, “and I’m still learning new things.”

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