Instrumental

The latest release in the Recording Study series is Gary Smith dialing in his custom King Amplifier, rehearsing with the band and recording "Alviso Rock." You can find it here, http://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/recording_study_4_professional_studio, under the Section 4 videos.

In this video Aki rehearses the band and records "Bombay Stroll" http://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/recording_study_4_professional_studio

We're now on to the second day of recording. I move into the smaller isolation room and we start the day with all of my solo tunes. These two videos I record "Here We Go." This Tramp groove, based on Lowell Fulson’s song “Tramp,” has long been a favorite groove of mine. With a rhythm driven by 8th and 16th notes, it allows for fast playing and some very cool runs that traverse the entire range of the harmonica. continue reading...

In this video we rehearse and record my shuffle arrangement (eventually to be titled "Playin' It Forward.") with Aki Kumar.

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.

Another great value of having a recorder handy is to document your progress when songwriting. After a session of working out ideas for a new instrumental I'll grab my iPhone and use the memo app to do a quick recording of my performance (solo or with a jam track). It's common for many days to go by between writing sessions and it's very easy to forget prior progress. I start a new session listening to my past recording, sometimes even playing along to it. I stop the playback and then get to work. continue reading...

Here's a list of killer instrumentals with strong heads.

“All Corned Up” Jim Liban, Hot Tongue and Cold Shoulder
“The Bounce” Rod Piazza, Alphabet Blues
“Hittin’ Heavy” William Clarke, William Clarke, the Early Years, Vol. 1
“Red Top” Gary Primich, Mr. Freeze
“South Bay Beatdown” Gary Smith, Blues for Mr. B
“Harp Shuffle” Mark Hummel, Harmonica Party
“Blues For Big Nate” Jerry Portnoy, Red Hot ‘n’ Blue
“Club Zanzibar” Kim Wilson, Kirk Fletcher, Shades of Blue
“El Gado Rumba Azul” Curtis Salgado, Hit It ‘n Quit It
“Ashburn Blues” Dennis Gruenling, Jump Time continue reading...

In Friday's tip I spoke of the hook, which is a catchy lick that's played by the rhythm section and BECOMES the groove.

The other most common way to play a catchy lick is to use it as the main lick in a head. The head is the same structurally as any other chorus in a song, it's just the BEST one. The lick is repeated within that chorus, using one of the Chorus Form structures I teach in Improvising Study 1 (http://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/improvising_study_1_chorus_forms) to make it memorable. continue reading...

Once you complete these Study Songs...

1) Tongue Block Study 1 "Walk with Me"
2) Bending Study 2 "Feelin' for the Blues"
3) Bending Study 2.5 (Repertoire Builder) "Take It Easy Now"
4) Bending Study 4 "My Blues" continue reading...

"The Bounce" has a great head with the octave substitution technique we spoke of before on the IV Chord. This song can be found on the release The Best Of Rod Piazza 1968-2003 [Disc 1], though the Alphabet Blues release is in better tune (The Best Of Rod Piazza is a little bit flat). He's playing an A Harmonica in this instrumental.