Posted Mon, 08/17/2015 - 08:14 by David Barrett Admin
A BIG announcement has just been made... you can now return defective Hohner Harmonicas at the place of purchase. In the past you would have to take the time and expense of mailing a defective harmonica to Hohner directly for repair or replacement, now you can just return the harmonica with proof of at the store you purchased it from. I recommend you print out the portion of this new Hohner Easy Reeding magazine though, this non-return policy has been around so long that I guaranty you'll have to prove that this is the case. continue reading...
Posted Mon, 08/10/2015 - 09:43 by David Barrett Admin
Go to a favorite YouTube performance you've been interested in learning and click on Settings (gear icon at bottom right-hand side of screen), click on Speed and then select .5 (half speed) or .25 (one quarter the original speed). Pitch will remain the same when slowed down. This is a great tool to study songs from YouTube.
Posted Fri, 08/07/2015 - 08:55 by David Barrett Admin
Though Steve includes standard blues grooves in his jam tracks, where his series really excels is in their inclusion of songs that are bluesy in nature, but have elements of other musical styles. This also includes challenging keys, grooves and chord progressions. If you would like to add more diversity to your playing, or would like to start the process of learning how to deal with non-standard blues songs, this is a great series. More can be learned about the series here http://www.stevebaker.de/books_en_46.html
Posted Thu, 08/06/2015 - 07:49 by David Barrett Admin
The Ultimate Jam Track series is another great collection of killer blues backing tracks. Like Jimi Lee's jam tracks, the musicians are steeped in the tradition of the blues and are inspiring to play with. There are three CDs available and they're all great http://www.ultijamtracks.com/blues.html
Posted Wed, 08/05/2015 - 07:32 by David Barrett Admin
One of my favorite jam tracks with common blues grooves (designed to be generic so that they can be used with a wide range of songs) is Jimi Lee's "Every Groove a Bluesman Needs To Know." 31 tracks are included with PDF description of each groove. Download or physical CDs can be ordered here http://www.jimileeband.com/jam_tracks/
Posted Mon, 08/03/2015 - 08:59 by David Barrett Admin
I often get asked by harmonica students if a jam track exists for a given song. Jam tracks, by design, are specific to common grooves, but intentionally vague so that they can work for many different types of songs. Some songs are famous due to their uniqueness... "Baby Scratch My Back" for example by Slim Harpo. For songs like these, specific jam tracks are needed. For these songs BluesHarpTracks.com is the place to go. If they don't have the song you're looking for, email Shoji, you may be able to pay him to make one for you.
Posted Wed, 07/29/2015 - 07:46 by David Barrett Admin
And now for the fourth point of the 4-Point hold...
The webbing of skin between your thumb and forefinger creates a nice backstop for the left side of the harmonica. The location of where you place the corner of the harmonica depends on the size and shape of your left hand, but the general ideas is simple... allow a little bit of the rear, left-hand corner of the harmonica settle into that area at some point so that it prevents the harmonica from sliding away from your mouth as you play. continue reading...
Posted Mon, 07/27/2015 - 08:40 by David Barrett Admin
Yes, you can just pick up the harp and play, but since we're studying how to play well, why not use a hold that's more stable and minimizes fatigue? Let's start today by looking at the basic 2-Point Hold (Pic 1 - 2 Points Contact.jpg). Note the position of the forefinger (A) on the top and thumb (B) on the bottom. Look at this, and then look at your hold and study how other parts of your hand (we're only talking about your left hand right now) may assist you in this hold. continue reading...