songwriting

Here's a list of killer instrumentals with strong heads.

“All Corned Up” Jim Liban, Hot Tongue and Cold Shoulder
“The Bounce” Rod Piazza, Alphabet Blues
“Hittin’ Heavy” William Clarke, William Clarke, the Early Years, Vol. 1
“Red Top” Gary Primich, Mr. Freeze
“South Bay Beatdown” Gary Smith, Blues for Mr. B
“Harp Shuffle” Mark Hummel, Harmonica Party
“Blues For Big Nate” Jerry Portnoy, Red Hot ‘n’ Blue
“Club Zanzibar” Kim Wilson, Kirk Fletcher, Shades of Blue
“El Gado Rumba Azul” Curtis Salgado, Hit It ‘n Quit It
“Ashburn Blues” Dennis Gruenling, Jump Time continue reading...

In Friday's tip I spoke of the hook, which is a catchy lick that's played by the rhythm section and BECOMES the groove.

The other most common way to play a catchy lick is to use it as the main lick in a head. The head is the same structurally as any other chorus in a song, it's just the BEST one. The lick is repeated within that chorus, using one of the Chorus Form structures I teach in Improvising Study 1 (http://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/improvising_study_1_chorus_forms) to make it memorable. continue reading...

For a groove to be special, it's generally based on a cool lick, played by the rhythm section and sequenced throughout the chord changes (this is where the lick is moved up or down to be played on the other chords)... this special lick is known as a Hook. Here is a list of cool hooks that lay very well on the harmonica. To learn how to play these on the harmonica visit: http://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/accompaniment_study_8

“Blue Midnight” Little Walter (Bass Line)
“I Found A New Love” Magic Sam
“Driving Wheel” Junior Parker
“Just to Be With You” Muddy Waters continue reading...

"Sad Hours" by Little Walter starts with the guitar playing a bass line hook to set the mood with the band. Walter then enters with a pickup and holds a ghostly 5 draw. Walter plays thematically and never overplays... a great example of building a mood and staying with it. continue reading...

Every song starts with a spark of an idea. Most of the time the spark is a cool lick that has a catchy rhythm and/or note combination that you match to a groove after its creation. Sometimes you sit down to write material for your band or a CD project and you think about exploring different grooves (shuffle, swing, two-beat, rock-beat, rumba, etc.) to add variety and spark some new directions. Sometimes you have a mood in mind.

Let's take some time and explore these different ideas this week. Listen to these three examples for their mood and let's discuss their ideas tomorrow. continue reading...

"The Bounce" has a great head with the octave substitution technique we spoke of before on the IV Chord. This song can be found on the release The Best Of Rod Piazza 1968-2003 [Disc 1], though the Alphabet Blues release is in better tune (The Best Of Rod Piazza is a little bit flat). He's playing an A Harmonica in this instrumental.