Posted Thu, 01/22/2015 - 09:37 by David Barrett Admin
I've now added what I feel are two important elements to a basic hand transcription... bar lines and chord changes.
By placing a vertical line after the last note of a measure (which in turn is before the first note of the new measure) you're helping to give a basic visual reference of where you are in time. Though you're not providing standard rhythm notation, which would show you exactly where you are in time, this is a good intermediary step when playing by ear. continue reading...
Posted Wed, 01/21/2015 - 12:32 by David Barrett Admin
In our newest episode of the BluesHarmonica.com Recording Study series Gary Smith shares his recording experiences and how he would like to approach our new CD project. Gary and I rehearse our harmony tunes and I provide you with MP3 scratch tracks and PDF music/TAB for you to play along with us.
Posted Wed, 01/21/2015 - 11:48 by David Barrett Admin
Here's my basic handwritten TAB for the fist line of Little Walter's "Rocker." When a hole number stands by itself it's to be drawn (inhaled). When a hole number is followed by a plus it's to be blown (exhaled). Each slash that follows a hole number represents a half step of bend. If two notes are connected by a arched line, the bend is to be slurred (slides from one note to the next). I use a comma to separate phrases, making breaking down the phrase for study easier. This is also helpful for seeing how the phrasing works for dynamic presentation. continue reading...
Posted Tue, 01/20/2015 - 09:41 by David Barrett Admin
This is good timing!... foreshadowing for our Recording Study video interview with Kid Anderson to release in a month's time. Kid will also be the guitarist and recording engineer for our new CD (Gary Smith, Aki Kumar and I). Congrats to Kid on this featured article!
Posted Fri, 01/16/2015 - 14:47 by David Barrett Admin
It's now time to get to work. Take a listen to the first four bars of Little Walter's "Rocker." I would like you to figure out: the key of harmonica; the key Walter and the band are playing in; where he starts in time; and how you would count this song in.
I'll get you started...
1) He's playing in 2nd Position
2) He starts with a 2" (2 draw whole step bend) that quickly goes to 2 (2 draw)
Posted Wed, 01/14/2015 - 14:58 by David Barrett Admin
In our newest episode of the BluesHarmonica.com Recording Study series Aki Kumar shares his recording experiences and how he would like to approach our new CD project. Aki and I rehearse our harmony tunes and I provide you with MP3 scratch tracks and PDF music/TAB for you to play along with us.
Posted Tue, 01/13/2015 - 08:57 by David Barrett Admin
Before we leave this subject of figuring out the key...
If you're trying to figure out the key of a song, and there's no harp playing on the recording you're copying/referencing, upon guessing what the key is, make sure to grab the corresponding harp and play a song you're familiar with to the music. This will confirm that you have chosen the correct key and position of harp. continue reading...
Posted Fri, 01/09/2015 - 10:05 by David Barrett Admin
No matter which technique you use from the list of three I presented on 1/6/2015, if you make an error in your key selection, it's usually because you heard that the 5th of the key sounded good and took it as the root note.