Posted Fri, 08/01/2014 - 21:40 by David Barrett Admin
Al Blake, born as Alan Blake Eliel, shot into the world January 16, 1945 on a marine corps base near Klamath Falls, Oregon. While later growing up during the early 50s in Oklahoma, the Blues began tugging at his heart under the influence of his black nanny Ruby Anderson. She used to pack him over to the other side of the tracks where her small house sat nestled near Oklahoma City. Down the street from Ruby's house was a small general store where a hi-fi, with a large outdoor speaker, loudly played the Deep Southern Blues while people listened and danced there on a daily basis. continue reading...
Posted Thu, 07/31/2014 - 08:59 by David Barrett Admin
Close your mouth and yawn. This will give you the sensation of what it feels like when a professional harmonica player with big tone plays the harmonica. The jaw is slightly lowered... middle and back of the tongue is lowered to the floor of the mouth... throat is slightly ballooned open... and soft palate is raised to close off the nasal cavity. continue reading...
Posted Thu, 07/17/2014 - 07:18 by David Barrett Admin
The next time you find yourself in the studio, bring two amps to play through. Using a splitter or A/B box does the job to send the signal of your bullet mic into both amps. You can also plug in the Input 1 of one amp, and then with an instrument cable run out the Input 2 or Line Out of that amp into the input of the other. The studio engineer will mic each amp separately and will place a third mic in the room to pickup the ambient (room sound) of your rig, especially if it's a live (reflective) room. continue reading...
Posted Wed, 07/09/2014 - 07:07 by David Barrett Admin
We're now to the part of the tongue that's not used for tongue blocking or articulation. "EE" is a good approximation for the movement of the middle of the tongue upwards in the mouth. The humping of the middle of the tongue is commonly the location for bending on the 4 draw and the first stages of the 3 draw (3' for example).
Posted Thu, 07/03/2014 - 08:33 by David Barrett Admin
One of my favorite living blues harp player, Jim Liban, just released a new CD! I'm listening to it right now... killer playing. I'll provide you a complete track list of harp keys and positions used Monday. To get you started, the first track he uses a G Harmonica in 2nd Position. Now get to work stealing licks!
"I Say What I Mean"
Jim Liban & The Joel Paterson Trio
Posted Wed, 07/02/2014 - 06:45 by David Barrett Admin
The blade of the tongue is the front of the tongue, just behind the tip. This part of the tongue is used for tongue blocking an octave and for standard single-hole tongue blocking. When performing an octave, your lips surround four holes and with a very light tough, the natural convex shape of the blade of your tongue covers the middle two holes (if you press your tongue on the face of the harmonica too hard you’ll block all four holes, so a light touch is important). continue reading...
Posted Mon, 06/30/2014 - 09:14 by David Barrett Admin
Join Mark Overman and myself as we present a series covering the usage of vintage P.A. heads for amplified blues harmonica playing. Our series starts with a visit to the innovator of P.A. head customization, Skip Simmons. In this installment Mark and Skip take us on a tour of Skip's vast warehouse of vintage gear. Our next installment will include an interview with Skip.
Posted Fri, 06/27/2014 - 07:16 by David Barrett Admin
Join me for Intermediate Student Ryan Walker's latest lesson where we cover Accompaniment Playing Study 5 (bluesy 7th Chords), Improvising Study 4 (V-IV-I Transition Licks), Solo Harmonica Study 3 (Bass Lines with Pulls) and Music Theory Study 3 (Playing in Minor).