teach

"If you think you got it, record yourself and listen back to see if you 'really' got it" said Rod Piazza in a conversation regarding preparation for the performance of a song.

It's difficult to listen to yourself closely enough while playing to make an accurate assessment of your performance. Make use of the easy tool of recording (most of us have phones or computers that have recording software and microphones built in) for self-assessment. continue reading...

An alternative to the Flutter Tongue is the Side Flutter, where your tongue moves side to side. I commonly see three ways this is approached...

1) The tongue moves side to side on the face of the harmonica. When the tongue is to the right, the low note sounds (D for example on the C Harmonica when performing a 1 draw/4 draw side flutter). When the tongue moves to the left, the high note sounds (4 draw in this case). With a light touch on the face of the harmonica and a relaxed tongue, the tongue moves side to side quickly, jumping between the two octave D's. continue reading...

Fellow student Keith Mitchell just started Gospel Harmonica Community to "give birth to a online community for Gospel Harmonica enthusiasts." To read more about this Google Hangout visit: https://www.facebook.com/DigitalAspirations

Let's now try to create the vibrato on an unbent note.

Play your 3 draw and prepare your mouth to bend, but don't bend... keep your tongue and throat relaxed. Your mouth should be tuned to the 3 draw and is ready to influence the pitch when the tremolo starts. Now play your 3 draw with your throat tremolo and the vibrato should be there.

If you're vibrato is not there, then either your muscles are too tense or you're not tuned to the 3 draw. continue reading...

Here's the actual footage of me in the MRI while bending on the harmonica. Enjoy!
http://youtu.be/I5kogDrivvQ