Posted Tue, 03/31/2015 - 09:18 by David Barrett Admin
For about a month now we've been reviewing the common, and not so common, Chorus Forms used by blues musicians. Take a listen to Aki Kumar's instrumental "Bombay Stroll" released today at http://youtu.be/iAPr6qUTufg from the new It Takes Three CD and analyze it for his use of Chorus Forms.
Posted Fri, 03/20/2015 - 08:19 by David Barrett Admin
The theme in “Gary’s Blues” is presented in the first two notes, the 3+ eighth notes. This eighth note figure is restated throughout the song. You see this at the end of the first line, with the 4+ 3 played in the same eighth note rhythm. The second chorus starts with these 3+ eighth notes and you see them again in the third bar of Chorus 3… and at the end of Bar 4. This repeats in other places, but I think you get the idea. This type of thematic element is not commonly noticed, but it’s no doubt part of what makes a song cohesive. continue reading...
Posted Thu, 03/12/2015 - 09:23 by David Barrett Admin
In the book Improvising Jazz by Jerry Coker there's a quote author by Richmond Browne that "The listener must come our right around 50% of the time" in regards to guessing where the music is going next. Ruminate on that important statement and I'll elaborate tomorrow.
Posted Fri, 03/06/2015 - 09:27 by David Barrett Admin
Taking a listen to George Harmonica Smith's famous cut "Juicy Harmonica" (West Coast Down Home Harmonica CD on Elsegundo Records) you can easily hear that he's using the AAA Chorus Form in the first chorus. What is the second chorus? If you focus on pitches only you won't get it.
Posted Thu, 03/05/2015 - 09:56 by David Barrett Admin
You know that Joe Filisko has video lesson at BluesHarmonica.com, but you may not know that he has blues harmonica study songs (with music notation and recording) at his website http://www.filiskostore.com/category/34192016 for sale. If you like having purpose-written songs for the studying harmonica player, these are invaluable.
Posted Tue, 03/03/2015 - 10:07 by David Barrett Admin
Instructor Ross Garren spends an afternoon interviewing Tom Ball. The interview can be read in the National Harmonica League's magazine "Harmonica World." Here's a video snippet of his interview: http://youtu.be/D7CCPNayShI
Posted Fri, 02/27/2015 - 11:38 by David Barrett Admin
John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" uses the same device as Slim Harpo's "Baby Scratch My Back"... the main lick happens before the bar, with the final note landing on the downbeat of the bar. There are two more cool elements in "Boom Boom"...
1) The main lick only changes it's resolution note, to match the chord change.
2) There's a call-and-response happening. In the opening, the band responds to the main lick on the guitar. When the vocals enter, the band and guitar play the main lick and they go back and forth. continue reading...
Posted Wed, 02/25/2015 - 13:26 by David Barrett Admin
In most songs we're used to hearing the harmonica and band start together, with maybe a little pickup from the harmonica. The licks fit nicely within the 12 Bar Blues and are generally intuitive to play... to feel where they belong in the form. continue reading...