Amanda Ventura is a young harmonica player based in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. She has been playing the harmonica since she was 18 years old. At first, she learned from a teacher in her city called Tiago Juk. After a few months, she continued to study by herself using YouTube including those from the great Brazilian harmonica player Igor Kasuya.
When she was a teenager, she loved a harmonica solo of a song called “Morena” by a band called Scracho. She remembers repeating the solo part over and over again. At the time she was studying acoustic guitar, but was so fascinated by the sound and expressiveness of the harmonica that she switched instruments.
Amanda says that “I like to play different harmonicas according to the style of music I’m playing. When I play old school blues, for example, I choose a Hohner Marine Band. I love its wood tone and I think the sound suits this style of music a lot. When I want a more modern sound, I play with Suzuki or Seydel models. My favourites from these brands are the Suzuki Manji and the Seydel 1847 Noble.”
She practices every day. Her favourite exercise is to search for cool backing tracks on YouTube and from these she creates her own melodies. “I just play and have fun. Before the pandemic, I played gigs with different bands from my city. It was such a good experience for me to show people the music I practice alone.” She has also begun to teach the harmonica both online and in person.
Her main influence on harmonica is Indiara Sfair – “she’s amazing and so creative with her melodies. I think she has a great sense of music, and everything she does with the harp sounds good. I also like to listen to another Brazilian harmonica player called Flávio Guimarães and also Jean Jacques Milteau, Billy Branch and Dale Spalding.”
