Posted Wed, 08/17/2011 - 07:37 by David Barrett Admin
How many Tips of the Day have we had on bending so far... I lost count... there's tons of them! Why is this so? It's one of our most challenging techniques performed on the harmonica. If you had the mistaken impression that harmonica is easy to play, then this technique will set your straight! Use the knowledge you've gained from understanding the physics of bending all the way to where the tongue is located in your mouth and what part of the tongue humps up for each pitch found in each hole for bending. continue reading...
Posted Tue, 08/09/2011 - 08:18 by David Barrett Admin
While whistling a medium-pitched note (like 4 draw) you'll notice your tongue in the middle of the mouth, with the pitch created near the middle-front of the tongue. Note that the tip as well as the back of the tongue is not humped up. Experiment with this... more tomorrow...
Posted Sat, 08/06/2011 - 15:03 by David Barrett Admin
Let's spend some time looking at the similarities between whistling and bending. Whistle some low, mid and high notes... note the position of your tongue and which part of the tongue you're using for each.
Posted Thu, 08/04/2011 - 07:58 by David Barrett Admin
Why?
1) Listen - No playing... no humming... just listen.
Why: Just appreciate the lick for what the lick has to offer... what its essence is.
2) Hum - This personalizes/internalizes the lick... learning the rhythm and contour of the lick before you pick up your harmonica.
Why: If you play ON TOP of the music right away it will take longer and be less accurate to learn... it's like the saying, "How can you listen if you're talking?" make sense? continue reading...
Posted Wed, 08/03/2011 - 07:29 by David Barrett Admin
Here's more insight into yesterday's Tip of the Day...
1) Listen - No playing... no humming... just listen to what's being played.
2) Hum - This personalizes and internalizes the lick... learning the rhythm and contour of the lick before you pick up your machine (the harmonica) is imperative.
3) Practice - Stop the loop and practice on the harp. With the provided music work on the blows, draws, bends, movement... everything related to performing that lick on your machine. Do this until you can get close to the rhythm of the lick in your memory. continue reading...
Posted Sun, 07/31/2011 - 21:22 by David Barrett Admin
Join me for an artist study of one of our four great post war Chicago blues fathers, Big Walter Horton. In this lesson we dig into what Big Walter Horton is really known for... his killer shuffle. All of the licks used in the study song "Shakey's Shuffle" come from Big Walter himself, providing you with great vocabulary for you to study and draw upon for your own improvising. You may record yourself playing to the provided jam track and submit it to me for review if you wish. This study is for advanced skill level players. You'll need an A Harmonicas for this study. continue reading...