practice harp harmonica blues lesson instruction tips help

Put the jam track on that you've been practicing your instrumental with and improvise. Work your Hole Changes (Accompaniment Study 3), Chorus Forms (Improvising Study 1), Soloing Themes (Improvising Study 7) and general jamming with a goal of becoming very familiar with the groove of the song you're playing. This way, if you unintentionally deviate from your prearranged instrumental, you won't freak out. continue reading...

I'm a big fan of having a good selection of jam tracks to practice with. Here's a list of jam tracks I use often.

Blues Harp Tracks provides jam tracks that are generic, as well as jam tracks that have been recorded to work with specific blues harmonica songs.
bluesharptracks.com

For generic grooves, these are my favorite...

Ultimate Blues Jam (3 CDs) by Pete Schmidt
http://www.ultijamtracks.com

Groovetrax - Every Groove A Bluesman Needs To Know by Jimi Lee
http://jimileeband.com/jam_tracks/groovetrax_sample_clips/ continue reading...

The next step in your practice routine is to bullet-proof yourself for the bandstand. When you play your tune with a band, their backing will not sound the same as what you've been practicing to. To help prepare yourself for this, use a program like the Amazing Slow Downer and slow your song down 10% to get a feel for what would happen if you count your song in too slow. Inversely, set the tempo 10% too fast, which is a more likely error than counting to slowly... we all get excited and tend to count songs in too fast. continue reading...

You've most likely played your song hundreds of times by this point, so you probably don't need the sheet music anymore (if sheet music exists). What you're most likely having issues with is remembering what the first lick is for each chorus. If you can remember the first lick, usually you're good to go for the entire chorus. Maybe you've accidentally mixed up the first lick a couple of times and subsequently missed a chorus or two in the confusion.

Here's how to deal with this... continue reading...

If you have a harmonica with a bad reed, you can still use the rest of the harmonica for practice. Here's how Dan, a fellow BluesHarmonica.com member, does it... "I'm working on 1st Position right now. I have a harp with a bad 5 draw reed, but the 5 draw is rarely used in 1st Position. I work on my runs and all their associated bends on the lower four holes and the same for the top four holes. By using the bad harps like this, I've not affected my practice and have added another six months life to each of my good harps." Thanks for sharing this Dan!

In the video "A Master Class in Jazz Performance and Creativity with Pianist Kenny Werner" found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un3p614XExc Kenny speaks of why it's important to silence the critical mind in performance. At 2:50 he states, "The zone is created by not criticizing yourself in performance. You cannot afford to criticize yourself in performance... that breaks the zone... that breaks the groove. But of course you may hear notes you don't like, but don't key in on that." Thanks to fellow student Annemarie for sharing this.

A quote that has always resonated with me (sorry, I don't know who said it) is, "Inspiration is for amateurs." Whenever I don't feel like practicing, I say this quote to myself and I get back to work.

The critical mind (the one that helps you to identify weak areas in your playing to be fixed) that's so beneficial in the practice room, is a hindrance on the bandstand. Unfortunately, it brings emotional baggage... it should be observational, not emotional... but it often translates to emotional. When performing, this internal critical voice needs to be hushed and the voice of confidence should be its replacement. continue reading...

Our quote from yesterday was, "Practice with the eager intensity of a new student and perform with the complete confidence of a seasoned pro."

Let's address the first part of the quote...

New students are intense... all they want to do is play the harmonica... every chance they can get. Staying in this "this is a new and exciting activity" is the challenge of keeping your practice fresh and rewarding. continue reading...

Practice with the eager intensity of a new student and perform with the complete confidence of a seasoned pro.