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Our quote from yesterday was, "Practice with the eager intensity of a new student and perform with the complete confidence of a seasoned pro."

Let's address the first part of the quote...

New students are intense... all they want to do is play the harmonica... every chance they can get. Staying in this "this is a new and exciting activity" is the challenge of keeping your practice fresh and rewarding. continue reading...

Though a tuner is a great tool for dialing in your bends, using a tuner to catch a pitch quickly enough to register while you're actually playing a passage (not just a slow exercise) won't happen. A pitch generator plays a reference pitch (instead of receiving one in the case of a tuner). Many tuners have a pitch generator setting on them. continue reading...

Play a 4 draw. Now play a 4 draw with a little bit of 5 draw... your ear still hears the 4 draw as the main note, the 5 draw is just there for texture. Play a 4/5 shake... again you still hear the 4 draw as the main note. When playing adjacent notes, the ear hears the bottom note of the harmony.

Now play a 1 draw-4 draw octave. In this case the ear hears the upper octave... the 4 draw. When playing an octave (or other type of split), the ear hears the top note.

This is great to know when you're exploring different textural options in your writing.

What do you do when you get lost in the music... i.e., can't feel the beat or know where you are in the form?

1) Use More Space - Longer rests between phrases gives you an opportunity to listen intently and focus on reestablishing your meter and where you are in the 12 Bar Blues form.

2) Use Longer Holds - This has the same affect as using space. Whether you hold a note (takes no brain power) or rest (takes no brain power), you can listen while doing any of these actions (or non-actions ;-) continue reading...