Posted Mon, 10/10/2011 - 07:27 by David Barrett Admin
“’Do you always know what you’re gonna say before you start taking?’ No. ‘And does that stop you from talking.?’ Not usually. ‘Okay, then play!’” Pg 30, The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music, by Victor L. Wooten
Posted Sat, 10/08/2011 - 07:49 by David Barrett Admin
“If you do practice straight scales, practice them in a musical way. Change the dynamics, or even vary the phrasing or the time timing. Most important, listen to each note. A scale is a fantastic thing. It’s the basis of our musical language. Each note has a psychological value, a tendency to settle or lead to another note. Take the time to appreciate the effect of each sound. Notice how it feels in the context of the entire scale. You can discover endless possibilities by enjoying scales this way.” Pg 143, The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music From the Heart by Madeline Bruser
Posted Fri, 10/07/2011 - 07:21 by David Barrett Admin
“An exercise is simply a series of notes taken out of normal musical context, and usually sequenced and repeated. Many written exercises are lengthy and unmusical, and practicing them can easily become tedious.” Pg 17,
The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music From the Heart by Madeline Bruser
This is why most of your study on the sight is focused study songs... one chorus equaling about two weeks worth of focused practice.
Posted Tue, 10/04/2011 - 07:28 by David Barrett Admin
Which embouchure is fastest... Pucker or Tongue Block? There's no difference... they both can play as fast as the other, BUT, Pucker can play faster articulations due to the back AND front of the tongue is free to articulate (in Tongue Blocking the tip is on the face of the harmonica)... think Ta Ka Ta Ka Ta Ka... etc. So, in the end, we all need to know how to do both to be a well-rounded harmonica player.
Posted Mon, 10/03/2011 - 08:16 by David Barrett Admin
I provide you with structured lessons on the harmonica... unprecedented in the history of blues harp education. This is your KNOWN element. If you follow the lesson plans I lay out for you, you WILL become a great player. In your journey there will be areas of bewilderment... and this is of course part of the process. You will not always know if you're doing something correctly, or if your time is best spent studying particular areas... but that's part of the process as well. For many, improvising and accompaniment playing is very daunting... it sure is... but again, it's part of the process. continue reading...
Posted Fri, 09/23/2011 - 07:15 by David Barrett Admin
Play a note on your harmonica... any note... for about three seconds. While holding this note try to keep the volume the same at the beginning, the middle and at the end. Did you just do it? Good. Now, never do that again! :-)
Posted Tue, 09/20/2011 - 09:03 by David Barrett Admin
What were mentioned over the last couple of days as blessings also leads to one of our curses... since we don't have to learn about keys, scales, scale degrees and chords in our formative years, when it comes to communicating with musicians we're illiterate. Make sure to watch the Performance Training lessons on BluesHarmonica.com, specifically Groove; Openings, Endings & Breaks; and down the road the lessons on Theory and Accompaniment Playing. It's also a great idea to study books like Alfred's Essentials of Music Theory Complete. continue reading...