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David's Tip of the Day: Laws of Blues Harmonica - Exhale Before You Play

Posted Wed, 09/09/2015 - 08:22 by David Barrett Admin
David Barrett Admin's picture

Our most common position is 2nd Position, and when playing in 2nd Position we draw (inhale) much more than we blow (gives us access to draw bends). For this reason, every time you pick up the harmonica to play your reflex should be to exhale before starting.

This is consistent with 3rd Positions as well, but not so for 1st Position where we focus on playing more blows than draws.

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David's Tip of the Day: Melodyne Music Editor

Posted Tue, 09/08/2015 - 07:15 by David Barrett Admin
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Pretty cool editing software recommended by fellow student Sandor. He states, "It's not for live music, but for studio recording... fixing vocals, and works very well with harmonica. Harmonica caused headaches for other software." He also uses this software to convert what he played from audio to midi so that the midi can be imported into notation software to notate in standard music notation what he played. Thanks Sandor.

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David's Tip of the Day: Laws of Blues Harmonica - Accompaniment Rule of Inactivity

Posted Thu, 09/03/2015 - 07:52 by David Barrett Admin
David Barrett Admin's picture

When the vocals begin, hold the last note you you were playing softly until the vocal phrase is over and then continue playing (this assumes you were playing a chord tone, otherwise you would of had to change quickly to a chord tone). If you were playing a riff (repetitive lick), keep playing that riff softly through the vocal phrase. Holding a note equals inactivity and continuing an already-established phrase (riff) is inactivity. Change is activity and will distract from what's happening with the vocals.

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David's Tip of the Day: Laws of Blues Harmonica - 2 Draw

Posted Wed, 09/02/2015 - 07:39 by David Barrett Admin
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Whether you're improvising or accompanying, if your lick focuses on the 2 draw, you can play it through the IV7 Chord as well and it will sound good (like the A A B Chorus Form for example).

The simple theory is that the 2 draw (referencing a C Harmonica in 2nd Position, Key of G) is G, the Root Note of the I7 Chord. 2 draw is also the 5th of the IV7 Chord, so it works there as well. If your lick also includes the 3 draw, remember to obey the 3 Draw Rule and bend it down to 3' when on the IV7 Chord.

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David's Tip of the Day: Laws of Blues Harmonica - Slap

Posted Tue, 09/01/2015 - 07:46 by David Barrett Admin
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The default way to present a note is with a slap (http://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/tongue_blocking_2)

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David's Tip of the Day: Laws of Blues Harmonica - 4 Draw Shake (Hole 4 with 5)

Posted Mon, 08/31/2015 - 07:53 by David Barrett Admin
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When it doubt, shake.

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David's Tip of the Day: Laws of Blues Harmonica - 3 Draw Rule (Relative to Chords)

Posted Fri, 08/28/2015 - 15:59 by David Barrett Admin
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If the 3 draw B (or 3 draw quarter tone bend as discusses yesterday) is an emphasized note in your first lick of the 12 Bar Blues progression, and you wish to continue the chorus with that lick as a theme (think Chorus Forms as taught in the Improvising Studies), then when the lick is repeated over the IV7 Chord you should bend the 3 draw down to 3' Bb and 3" A over the V Chord.

Here's the basic theory...

I7 = G B D F (referencing C Harmonica in 2nd Position, Key of G) and 3 B is the 3rd of the chord. continue reading...

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David's Tip of the Day: Laws of Blues Harmonica - 3 Draw Quarter Tone Bend

Posted Thu, 08/27/2015 - 07:50 by David Barrett Admin
David Barrett Admin's picture

The 3 draw is commonly played at a quarter tone bend or dipped.

It's rare to hear an experienced blues harmonica player play the 3 draw without a slight bend. The bend is not as deep as a half step (3' Bb), it's between the 3 B and 3 Bb, and it's variable, so it's best not to say it's an exact degree in that range (the lighter the song, the less the bend... the darker the song, the deeper the bend).

If you're going for a lighter sound, then a dip is good. A dip is a slight bend (can go as deep as a half step, 3' Bb) that releases quickly to the natural 3 draw. continue reading...

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David's Tip of the Day: Laws of Blues Harmonica - 4 Draw

Posted Wed, 08/26/2015 - 08:39 by David Barrett Admin
David Barrett Admin's picture

The 4 draw is the most over-used note on the harmonica in 2nd Position soloing for good reason... it can be presented in many ways (single, double, shake, slap, flutter, octave, etc.) and is a great launching pad to move up or down the harmonica. Today's law is that it's rare to play the 4 draw by itself, it's commonly presented with a touch of 5 draw in it to thicken its texture (what Joe Filisko calls "Dirty Notes"). The challenge is just to add a touch... too much and it becomes overly dissonant.

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David's Tip of the Day: Laws of Blues Harmonica Series

Posted Tue, 08/25/2015 - 10:25 by David Barrett Admin
David Barrett Admin's picture

Tomorrow starts a series I'll call Laws of Blues Harmonica. These laws cover common practices in regards to the approach of technique on the harmonica and blues music in general. Laws are of course meant to be broken, and should be if you have a musical reason for it (commonly phrasing), but you can generally count on what I'll share with you as being common practice among blues harmonica players of past and present. continue reading...

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