What is Harmonicas for Health?

This is a basic blues harmonica class designed for seniors that focuses on using the harmonica to improve your health by improving your breathing. The primary objective of the class is to learn enough harmonica techniques that playing harmonica becomes a fun part of your daily wellness routine. The more you play, the better you breathe, the more oxygen all your cells get, the better you feel. A free harmonica will be provided to all that sign up for the class, and handouts, guides and songs to play will provided each week.

Who is Mad Dog Friedman?

Mark “Mad Dog” Friedman is an award-winning harmonica player and a retired high school teacher, who with help of Michelle Miller-Bowman Whitmore, Director of Integrative Medicine for Longmont United Hospital, developed the original Harmonicas for Health Program. Friedman, a well-respected member of the Colorado music community, has recorded over 100 songs on harmonica with numerous bands.
His CD with Blue Lightning won the Colorado Blues Society’s Best Self-Produced CD contest in 2018. Friedman routinely plays over 100 shows a year with his current band, Mad Dog Blues.
As a teacher, Friedman has over 30 years of classroom experience mostly as a science teacher and curriculum leader for the Thompson School District. His responsibilities as an educator included developing, managing and evaluating professional development programs that trained hundreds of district and regional teachers and administrators in science inquiry, educational technology and standards-based education.

Wow! What a great article and interview from the Boulder Daily Camera about Mad Dog Friedman published on May 6, 2022!

What do we do in Harmonicas for Health?

Harmonicas for Health Course Outline

Week 1 – Basic warm up and breathing exercises, how to hold a harmonica, how to “cup” the harmonica, how to play a blow note, how to play a draw note and making the harmonica sound like a train. (Complimentary harmonicas given to each student donated by Hohner.)
Week 2 – Playing one note at a time and how to use harmonica tabs. (Try www.HarmonicaTabs.net to find harmonica tabs for about any song you want. Also Trubo Tabs has great tunes for beginners.)
Week 3 – Advanced breathing techniques, mastering single note play, introduction to bending a note and more tabs.
Week 4 – Harmonica theory, playing your harp in other keys than it was made in, playing the blues and more help with bending.
Week 5 – Other beginning & intermediate harmonica tricks and techniques and improvisation.
Week 6 – Advanced harmonica techniques and playing along with your costume-made jamming CD.

Harmonicas for Health at Wheat Ridge Active Adult Center at 6363 W. 35th Ave.

in Wheat Ridge, CO 80033

(303) 205-7500

Must sign up ahead of time through Wheat Ridge Active Adult Center.

Thursdays,

9/15, 9/22, 9/29, 10/6, 10/13 & 10/20

2:00 - 3:00 pm

Mad Dog Friedman, presenter

Complimentary harmonics given out from Hohner.

You may contact Mad Dog Friedman at maddogATpoetscoopDOTorg (Change the "AT" to "@" and the "DOT" to ".".)