Dave rocks!
Just watched the latest news vid and I have to comment on Dave's commitment to the cause. I know he's on commission from all the subs here but I sometimes have to slap myself as to how good this instructional site is! My playing is coming along in leaps and bounds and I just want to give a MASSIVE heads up to Dave and everyone involved in bluesharmonica.com. Thanks again guys and long may this truly fantastic site continue!
Thanks for your kind words... glad you're liking the site. If you're growing and having a good time doing it, than all is good! If you don't mind, if you have the time, do me a favor and get the word out in the various harmonica newsgroups, we can use all the help we can... and testimonials are better than anything. Thanks again.
Both of you guys have it right, but Hank's comment "a great model for instructional methods" hits it square on the head.
Back when this site was new, I commented to Dave that this was a model for any musical instructional method if not ANY type of instructional program that can be used on online. It is not only clear he has a great passion for music and this instrument, but has spent a lot of time prior to the introduction to this site putting together his vision.
Between his skills to articulate and understand what is happening in the mouth and the resources and friends he has accumulated over the years in the music community he has been able to create a truly AWESOME website that is incredibly addictive due to the sheer variety of material from holding the harmonica to playing on the bandstand.
I have paid for my children to learn the piano, guitar, violin, bass, and drums and they are now in college getting music degrees. Yet I can tell you I have not seen or experienced anything this comprehensive. Kudos to David for taking his vision and putting it hard at work for all of us!
Add my thanks to that. What's really blowing me away at the moment is the explanation of chorus forms, focus notes, contrast and all the other highly practical tools that help you construct an instrumental or solo. That stuff has really opened my eyes, or ears. It's also helped me understand what I'm hearing when I listen to the greats. Before I started on this site, I had a vague notion that a solo should 'tell a story', which is true, but not really helpful in communicating how exactly you do that. Now I'm thinking: take a lick, try AAA, AAB, etc., try thickening the texture when it repeats, try a sequence, and so on. A brilliant instructional method - thanks again!
By the way, do the other masterclass books work the same way - ie. For guitar, bass and drums? If so, I'll check out the guitar ones too.
Thanks again guys. The School of the Blues Lesson Series Guitar Method Level 2 does and so does the Piano Method Level 1... beyond that, none of the other instrument books do. I assume you have my Improvising Blues Harmonica book/CD? Also, Blues Harmonica Accompaniment Playing book/CD?... these are my best printed works... my opinion ;-)
Ive got Improvising Blues Harmonica and Blues Harmonica Accompaniment Playing. Everyone should own these books. They complete the web site perfectly.
Accompaniment playing helped me so much in the jams, i'm not just waiting my 12 bar solo anymore. I can mess around with the sax when they playing punch lines, i can back up singers without fear of them hating me and the book is full of great licks.
Improvising is really something else. You got all the music theory you need to play the harmonica. David explains all the scales, arpegios, chorus forms and basicly what makes music sound great. You have 3 great songs to learn, lick train, serious fun and chicago style. They are really good songs and in a shuffle style so its good if your intermediate-advanced and you finished the songs on the site and want more licks.
Every exemple has its own track on the cd, everything is clear and well explained. Its a must for every harp player, any level.
This is good to hear.... my book/cd should be waiting in the mail box for me this afternoon when I get home. I thought it sounded like a great reference.
he couldn't imagine how this site will get any better. I've seen some of the stuff coming from Dave interviewing pros at SPAH and I can hardly wait to see the whole interview. Plus Dave has got an endless bunch of ideas... he wants to keep guys playing. One thing I would suggest is to review the lessons often... Dave moves pretty fast and packs alot of info into a few minutes.
Chorus forms are a big deal. Use the licks you learn and add to them. It's amazing how one set of licks can be applied to different jam tracks and keys.
Bang on Rob - this is fantastic!!! It has information, lessons, tips, background stuff on the harmonica blues scene,and just keeps getting better - as hard as that is for me to believe!!.Add my thanks to David, his contributors, the guests interviewed, the forum "experts" and all of the players that contribute ideas and experiences through the forum. It really is a great model for instructional methods.