Club of Harps

The Club of Harps was founded by Jim Worsham and Marc Davidson in 2021.  Marc and Jim co-instructed beginners and intermediate harmonica classes at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, California State University Long Beach, for 5 years.  The enthusiasm of the class attendees over the years, its growth, and community engagement was encouragement enough to Jim and Marc to create an entity that could continue to grow, engage a diverse group of harmonica enthusiasts, as well as find opportunities to jam, perform, and support national and international community events and workshops.

The Club of Harps is a non-profit, dues-paying membership, represented by a Board of Directors, and open to all age groups 18 years +, welcoming all ethnicities and skill levels. 

We currently have monthly workshops,  conducted by Todd Parrott, recognized by the national community as one of the leading harmonica players and teachers.

 

Club of Harps Membership 

Our members range from complete rookies to some fairly accomplished players. 

We only play the diatonic harmonica, not the chromatic or tremelo.  Beginners only need a C-Major harmonica to get started.  Intermediate players are encouraged to add G, D and A Major harmonicas, and some also add more.  We recommend "Rockin' Ron's Music" in San Diego as the place to purchase your harmonicas online.  https://rockinronsmusicsd.com/ ;  We play and work on all styles of music but we mostly concentrate on standards, folk, pop, and of course, the blues  Our lessons tend to focus on the Blues because the skills and techniques of blues harmonica are applicable to all styles of music.  We have our own digital workbooks and digital songbooks which are updated frequently.  We currently meet 3 times weekly: Focus Group on Monday, Fundamentals Group on Wednesday, and All Group Practice on Thursday.  Wednesday and Thursday meetups are conducted at the Long Beach Senior Center, 1:30 - 3:30pm.   On the second Thursday of each month, we meet online via ZOOM for a lesson with professional harmonica player Todd Parrott in North Carolina.  We are organized as an unincorporated nonprofit and have registered our Articles and By-Laws with the IRS.   We have a club bank account and an elected board.  We keep members up to date with email announcements.  There is a $25 Initiation Fee.    Our dues are $25 per calendar quarter.  New members receive an official Club of Harps coffee mug when they pay their initiation fee. Additional mugs can be purchased for $10 each. Club T-Shirts are available for $20 each. (there are a variety of color choices available.)  We encourage each other and have fun!