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Position Understanding (Lesson 1)

Posted Fri, 08/19/2011 - 07:40 by David Barrett Admin
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Grab your G, A and D harmonicas and let's play the following licks on each harp.

1) A Harmonica - 6+ 6+ 5 5+ 4+ 4+

2) D Harmonica - 4 4 4+ 3 2 2

3) G Harmonica - 6 6 6+ 5 4 4

Play these licks a couple of times on each harmonica and think about the possibilities for each harp.

Whistling (Lesson 7) - Summing Up

Posted Wed, 08/17/2011 - 07:37 by David Barrett Admin
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How many Tips of the Day have we had on bending so far... I lost count... there's tons of them! Why is this so? It's one of our most challenging techniques performed on the harmonica. If you had the mistaken impression that harmonica is easy to play, then this technique will set your straight! Use the knowledge you've gained from understanding the physics of bending all the way to where the tongue is located in your mouth and what part of the tongue humps up for each pitch found in each hole for bending. continue reading...

What's New: Contributor Gary Smith

Posted Mon, 08/15/2011 - 22:12 by David Barrett Admin
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In Submission 24 Gary Smith talks about "Way Back Home," "So Disappointed" and "The Angels Listened In."

Whistling (Lesson 6) - Bending Application

Posted Mon, 08/15/2011 - 08:11 by David Barrett Admin
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Now how about bending on your harmonica... well, as you might have guessed, it's the same as whistling! Grab your harmonica of choice and try the "sh" on the 6 draw... "kee" on the 4 draw... and "ku" on the 2 draw... now use all of those in order on the 3 draw... if you have issues with controlling the 3 draw bend, this is the essential understanding needed to control it. TAKE YOUR TIME and give this some effort.

Whistling (Lesson 4)

Posted Thu, 08/11/2011 - 05:36 by David Barrett Admin
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Whistling a low-pitched note (like 3, 2 and 1 draw bends) you'll notice your tongue in the back of your mouth, with the pitch being created near the very back of the tongue... it can also help for you to drop your jaw. Note that the tip and middle of the tongue is not humped up... it's down so that you can have a resonant tone chamber... always thing "big tone" by getting parts of the tongue down that don't have to be humped up for the whistling/bending process. Experiment with this!...

Tip of the Day: Whistling (Lesson 3)

Posted Tue, 08/09/2011 - 08:18 by David Barrett Admin
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While whistling a medium-pitched note (like 4 draw) you'll notice your tongue in the middle of the mouth, with the pitch created near the middle-front of the tongue. Note that the tip as well as the back of the tongue is not humped up. Experiment with this... more tomorrow...

Tip of the Day: Whistling (Lesson 2)

Posted Mon, 08/08/2011 - 07:30 by David Barrett Admin
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Whistling a high note you'll notice the tongue forward in your mouth, with the pitch being created near the very front of the tongue. Note that the body of the tongue is high and large in the mouth, filling up the mouth cavity so that the air volume (space, not loudness) is very small... this is what's needed to sound the high pitch. Experiment with this, we'll dig more into this tomorrow.

Tip of the Day: Whistling

Posted Sat, 08/06/2011 - 15:03 by David Barrett Admin
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Let's spend some time looking at the similarities between whistling and bending. Whistle some low, mid and high notes... note the position of your tongue and which part of the tongue you're using for each.

Shuffle King

Posted Fri, 08/05/2011 - 08:28 by David Barrett Admin
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Shuffle King - All judges have reviewed the Shuffle King submissions, visit the link below to see their comments. Winners will be announced on the 15th!
http://www.bluesharmonica.com/shuffle_king_contest

Tip of the Day: Effective Lick Practice (Lesson 3)

Posted Thu, 08/04/2011 - 07:58 by David Barrett Admin
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Why?

1) Listen - No playing... no humming... just listen.

Why: Just appreciate the lick for what the lick has to offer... what its essence is.

2) Hum - This personalizes/internalizes the lick... learning the rhythm and contour of the lick before you pick up your harmonica.

Why: If you play ON TOP of the music right away it will take longer and be less accurate to learn... it's like the saying, "How can you listen if you're talking?" make sense? continue reading...