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The most up-to-date information from head instructor David Barrett

Michael Peloquin Interview

Posted Wed, 02/16/2011 - 09:53 by David Barrett Admin
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Michael is a respected singer, arranger, harmonica player and saxophonist in the California Bay Area. Traversing Blues, R&B, Country and American Music, Michael is a very diverse player. His mastery of theory, horn lines and overbending makes his viewpoint valuable to BluesHarmonica.com students. continue reading...

Discussions with a Blues Band

Posted Wed, 02/16/2011 - 09:53 by David Barrett Admin
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Join me, Rusty Zinn (guitar), RW Grigsby (bass) and Marty Dodson (drums) for a discussion about playing with harmonica players. This is an inside look at what it takes to be a great bandleader.

- When a harmonica player comes up to play with you, what directions do you want to hear? Part 1
- When a harmonica player comes up to play with you, what directions do you want to hear? Part 2
- Where do you feel harmonica players are deficient?
- Discussions on the volume of the harmonica and tone on the bandstand
- Players they feel we should check out continue reading...

Improvising Studies are Coming

Posted Wed, 02/09/2011 - 09:53 by David Barrett Admin
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Improvising studies will be coming online soon. Your homework...

1) Take study songs you've complete... anything that's a 12 Bar Blues... and listen to them for the use of repetition

2) Listen to some of your favorite songs... of all genres... and find the melodic element that repeats (called the hook) and count how many times that melodic element repeats throughout the song.

March 1st we'll be announcing a new student concert/contest called Shuffle King for writing an original blues harmonica instrumental with band (real band or jam track). Just a heads up for you.

Mark Hummel Submission #10 - Instrumental Writing with Rick Estrin

Posted Mon, 01/31/2011 - 10:35 by David Barrett Admin
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Join Mark and Rick for an interesting look into both vocal and instrumental song writing. Can you tell we're starting to ramp up for our next songwriting contest?!

Interview with harp mic repairman and customizer Dennis Oellig

Posted Mon, 01/31/2011 - 09:55 by David Barrett Admin
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Our interview with harp mic repairman and customizer Dennis Oellig is now up.

Joe Tartaglia Lesson 15

Posted Wed, 01/19/2011 - 16:09 by David Barrett Admin
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In this lesson Joe shares his thoughts on the student concert, continues his work on Gary's Blues and starts the process of learning how to improvise.

Aki Kumar Submission 6

Posted Wed, 01/19/2011 - 16:06 by David Barrett Admin
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In this submission Aki covers how to study and approach horn players on the harmonica. Aki also introduces Bay Area harp player Joe Lempkowski.

Gary Smith Submission 8

Posted Wed, 01/19/2011 - 16:04 by David Barrett Admin
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Gary's latest submission is up. In these videos Gary and I talk about Improvising... specifically lick development.

New Amp Designs

Posted Sat, 01/15/2011 - 12:08 by David Barrett Admin
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MegaTone Amps (www.megatoneamps.com) just released their new Wezo ME-18 Harp Amp and Blues Harp Monitor that I helped to design. Check out the YouTube video I just recorded at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttWKcMtC5qs

Harp Tech Studies 1

Posted Fri, 12/31/2010 - 08:42 by David Barrett Admin
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In our first study harp tech expert Kinya Pollard, aka The HarpSmith, will walk you through the different components of the standard diatonic harmonica. He'll also present the differences in material and construction between manufacturers as well as custom component options available in the marketplace.

This lesson video is for all skill level players. No tools are required for this lesson.