Posted Fri, 01/03/2014 - 10:22 by David Barrett Admin
I've never heard the comment... by anyone... ever... that a band was too quiet. The usual comment is "the band was so loud I couldn't hear myself at all." It's also common to hear from those in the audience, "I think you sounded good, but I couldn't really hear you."
So, our rule of thumb...
While playing on the bandstand, if you're not able to follow the story the soloist is crafting or the tale the vocalist is weaving, you're playing too loud. The vocalist/soloist has to at all times be heard well enough that not only their strong notes come out, but the subtleties as well. continue reading...
Posted Thu, 01/02/2014 - 09:14 by David Barrett Admin
The highest art of performance is to hear and react to what everyone in the band is playing as you play. If you're too focused on what you're playing, your ears close and your timing and groove suffer... along with your note selection relative to what the band is playing to support you (it's common for a soloist to play too light to a bluesy backing and vice-verse). continue reading...
Posted Wed, 01/01/2014 - 09:15 by David Barrett Admin
This is the #1 challenge for new bands. At School of the Blues we CONSTANTLY work on this with our house bands.
The most common ending for blues is where the ending lick happens in Bar 11. There are two common ways to approach this ending:
1) If the leader (singer or last person to solo) looks back to the band at Bar 10 (the IV Chord) and nods there head or says "here we go," or saying something of that nature, then EVERYONE should play an ending lick. continue reading...
Posted Tue, 12/31/2013 - 08:48 by David Barrett Admin
Here are the two most common breaks used in the middle of a song: 1) Downbeat of Bar 1 - This is where you start your slow hand raise (remember, count of 4) in Bar 12 and drop your hand on the downbeat of the next chorus. You play for 4 Bars by yourself and the band enters back in on Bar 5 (IV Chord). A good example of this is George "Harmonica" Smith's instrumental "Juicy Harmonica" (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/filiskobarrettgruenling) 2) Downbeat of Bar 12 - This is where you start your slow raise in Bar 11 and drop your hand on the downbeat of Bar 12. continue reading...
Posted Mon, 12/30/2013 - 09:54 by David Barrett Admin
This one is messed up all the time, but is an easy fix. Raise your hand to the count of 4... slowly raising it high over your head in an arcing motion and drop it quickly on beat 1 of the next bar. This "up slow" (4 counts) and "down fast" (downbeat of the next bar) is key. Practice this to varying speeds of music. More on this tomorrow.
Posted Thu, 12/26/2013 - 09:12 by David Barrett Admin
"Man, we played that song really fast!" And they're surprised to hear me say, "That's the tempo you asked for." Here are the steps to being successful in counting in your band at the tempo you want.
1) Hum a couple of bars in your head - Pick a part of the song that really gives you a sense of the rhythm (this may not be the opening of the song).
2) Tap your foot (or bob your head... something of your body should move)
3) Count 1 (then skip one beat) 2 (then skip one beat) - this is the "pre-count" and is there to get the band ready to play continue reading...
Posted Mon, 12/23/2013 - 09:05 by David Barrett Admin
Some of you know that I own School of the Blues in San Jose, CA and that we create house bands constructed from the student body (two new bands each year-long rotation). Within this training program they learn from me, the other instructors and through their experience working as a band in a jam session. Today starts a series of tips for you based on common challenges that these new house band deal with.