What's New!

Join me for our final lesson on accompaniment playing where we take Monster Mike Welch's CD "Cryin' Hey!" and dissect it for how we can approach playing harp on it. This lesson is for Advances skill level players and you'll need your entire set of harmonica, including your Chromatic. continue reading...

Annie Raines was born in 1969 in Boston and grew up in the suburb of Newton, Massachusetts. She picked up the blues harp at 17 and made her stage debut at the 1369 Jazz Club in Cambridge a few months before her high school graduation. Enthralled by the recordings of Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Big Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson, she became a fixture at Boston area blues jams. She briefly attended Antioch College and 1988 interned with Washington, DC homeless rights activist Mitch Snyder, who persuaded her to drop out of school to pursue her musical career. continue reading...

Many of you are using a metronome for the first time with the Solo Harmonica Study 1 material within the Levels of Achievement program. I've added some videos to Solo Harmonica Study 1 under the header "Solo Study 1: Working with a Metronome" to help you.

Join me for Accompaniment Study 9 where we work the art of duo playing with three song examples from guitarist and singer John Garcia.

Videos Include: continue reading...

In this lesson Ryan and I spend time on Music Theory Study 3 (chords), Improvising Study 4 (V-IV-I Transitions), Accompaniment Study 3 (Hole Changes) and Solo Harmonica Study 3.

Videos Include:
Lesson 22 - Intro & Dealing with Stuck Reeds
Lesson 22 - Improvising Study 4: Memorizing Chord Tones
Lesson 22 - Improvising Study 4: V-IV-I Chord Review
Lesson 22 - Improvising Study 4: Section 3 Licks, Part 1
Lesson 22 - Improvising Study 4: Section 3 Licks, Part 2
Lesson 22 - Accompaniment Study 3: Hole 1 Review
Lesson 22 - Accompaniment Study 3: Hole 2 Review continue reading...

This submission completes our Monster Mike Welch series of Accompaniment Playing.

Videos Include:
Submission #42 - Acc Lessons: One of those Days, Part 1
Submission #42 - Acc Lessons: One of those Days, Part 2
Submission #42 - Acc Lessons: One of those Days, Part 3
Submission #42 - Acc Lessons: Searching for an Angel , Part 1
Submission #42 - Acc Lessons: Searching for an Angel , Part 2
Submission #42 - Acc Lessons: Mistakes & Recording Alternate Takes
Submission #42 - Acc Lessons: Just Like a Fool
Submission #42 - Acc Lessons: Give Me Time

Here's Aki and I improvising an instrumental on the spot. The head is based on Little Walter's "Thunderbird."

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7c0cBdrqKM

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0VYRSsQ-tg

Joe continues his Artist Study with George Bullet Williams

Join Joe Filisko as he digs into Salty Holmes' approach to the train imitation.

Join me for an interview with harmonica educator and author Phil Duncan. continue reading...