Howard Parks has been playing the diatonic harmonica (blues harp, French harp, Mississippi Saxophone, tin sandwich, snort organ, tin taco, gob iron, pocket piano) for about 45 years. Howard began his harmonica studies with Jimmy Powers (Catfish Hodge, Root Boy Slim, Ben Andrews). This in turn led him to the Cambridge Harmonica Orchestra, a raucous ensemble originating out of Cambridge, Mass with a local chapter in Washington DC. And he was hooked.

Over the years, in addition to sitting in with various groups Howard has been a part of Poor Ellen Smith (acoustic Americana, traditional and original material), the Hard Times Band (old-time & traditional, country and Americana), and various ensembles in performances of acoustic blues music with the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation.

As a teacher, Howard prefers to take a highly individualist approach to meet the needs of his student, drawing on his experience as a harmonicist and musician, yoga teacher, and tai chi teacher. He tries to pay attention to optimizing the physical aspects of playing as well as getting comfortable with the music.