General Discussion

Many of you probably knew this but it just dawned on me that holes 4-7 on the C diatonic are equivalent to holes 1-4, 5-8, etc. on the C chromatic. This makes it easy to transpose licks in 3rd position within those holes back and forth.

If you're learning with a 64 note chromatic harmonica, I find it useful to scratch the 12 hole equivalents under the numbers with a file. For example: scratch "1" under the 5 hole of the 64, and so on. Like the diatonic, eventually you won't need to look at the hole numbers. But especially with 16 holes, I find this useful to prevent getting lost as easily. Additionally, I've scratched little arrows over the top of the 5, 9, and 13 hole to keep track of octaves. Sure, it's defacing your expensive chromatic but hey, you're sticking it in your mouth not going to a fashion show.

-Taylor

Many of David Barrett's book are available for digital purchase through Google Books. However the transcription books which went out of print a decade ago are not. It is nearly impossible to find print copies of the following books. I have called MelBay a couple times over the past year but haven't heard back. David can't release these transcriptions because MelBay owns the copyrights. So I'm asking for everyone's help. continue reading...

My name is Ricky. I am new to harmonica. I play drums and piano, and I am really excited to learn this instrument. I hope it is not bad form to introduce myself. I just felt like saying hello. --Ricky

Get this CD set. It's helped me a lot while learning songs. Some original songs are in pretty bad shape (Juicy Harmonica, Roller Coaster). Dave plays these and others almost exactly like the originals and it's much easier to hear the nuances when you're learning these songs.

If you haven't read Blues With a Feeling, The Little Walter Story and want to get it on your Kindle beware! There are two identical versions for some reason. One is priced at $14.55 and the other is priced at $48.56. They are the exact same book though. So make sure you get the $14.55 unless you want to donate more to the author and amazon. Which would be nice, but I'm pretty poor. Haha.
-Taylor

In addition to Dave's "Learning a new song/lick strategies", I also like to play through the song/lick over the top of the track but without making sound through my harmonica. My mouth will go to the right holes and my tongue will go to the right place for bends but I won't blow or draw air through the harp. I'll just go through the motions and listen carefully. I find this especially useful for licks that are giving me timing trouble and paying attention to dynamics. It's a little more active than just active listening. continue reading...

Hello,

On SBW II "Best of" CD, is a version of Bye Bye Bird with a band (not acapella).

Does anybody know how I can get this as a backing track? Is there any?

Thanks for your help!

Kind regards,
Arno

Dave's latest tip on practicing playing softly: http://www.bluesharmonica.com/practice_playing_softly

is one of the most important things a harmonica player can work on.

Playing softly not only keeps your harps working longer, it gives you control over the harmonica - you have to learn how to get bends and other sounds with finesse instead of force.

Playing softly also gives you somewhere to go. If you play loudly all the time it can get monotonous. But if you start at mid-volume, you can go down or up in volume for dramatic effect or to vary intensity. continue reading...

Is anyone else having problems importing certain MP3 jam tracks from Dave's lessons into Cakewalk Music Creator 6? Some of the MP3 files work great while others give a fatal error and fail to import.