Ask Instructor David Barrett

David, I am spending time in Improvising Study I. The chorus forms concept I totally understand and now it's just a matter of spending time in the material. Where I struggle terribly is coming up with fills. Is there some magic sauce in coming up with fills that sound good, or is it just a matter of trial and error until I grab something I like?

Thanks in advance.

Dear David,

I'm a complete beginner on the harmonica following along with your tongue blocking lessons.  I've enjoyed all the lessons very much so far.  It's been very valuable.  Thanks for making them. continue reading...

Hi David

I've thinking for a while of buying a Fender Pro Jr IV. I've watched your review of this amp which is very helpful. 

A guitar player friend of mine is selling a Fender Pro Jr III. It's recently refurbished and I'm sure he'll offer me a good deal. It's also good to buy from a friend.

The main difference I can see between III and IV is that III has an Eminence speaker and IV has a Jensen speaker. How big an impact does this have? 

Thanks

Sean

Hello David,

In Music Theory Study 5 - Section 1 Questions, you answer the Question 3 by saying that the Approach 2 (Ex. 1.8.) and Approach 3 (Ex. 1.10.) are similar and I got a bit confused I guess :

Approach 2 (Ex. 1.8.) : G Major Pentatonic Scale Adding the C for the IV Chord and F# for the V Chord so :

I Chord : G A B D E G

IV Chord : C D E G A B C (6 notes ?)

V Chord : D E F# G A B D (6 notes ?)

Approach 3 (Ex. 1.10.) : Chord Tones of the Major Pentatonic Scales so :

I Chord : G A B D E G

IV Chord : C D E G A C continue reading...

Hi, Dave, continue reading...

Hi again David.

I am practising the scale of C Major (on an A harp, which makes it A Major) over the entire 3 octaves. You ask for the entire scale ascending and descending. My question is, 'how good do the bends have to be on holes 2 & 3?'

As I'm doing LOA 4, I am classed as an intermediate player which could mean that the bends need to be OK but not perfect.  I seem to be getting the bent notes fairly accurately but the tone is not as good as the pure notes.

Thanks,

Mark.

Hi David,

I have suddenly become aware of the different articulations that I use when playing. For instance, on Accompaniment Playing Study 4, Ex. 1.1. I seem to be randomly using 3 different types of articulation. For the I, IV and V root notes, I am breathing purely from the diaphragm (no articulation), but for the pulls, I seem to be using 'Ta ta' and for some other notes, 'Ka Ka'. Should I be developing a specific articulation for a specific technique or am I worrying about this unnecessarily?

Thanks,

Mark.

Hi,

I would appreciate some guidance on when to use scales and their chords or soloing blocks and their chords.

Also, should I learn chords for the D blues scale as well?

Thanks in advance.

Dave I printed the music out but cant find the lesson ? need help . Is there a better way to use the site and find practice songs ? Thanks

Hi David, 

In ex. 2.3 of the accompaniment study, you recommend that we use the jam track for I Want You With me and get used to playing Root, 3rd, and 5th notes for accompaniment over a week or two. 

In earlier lessons, you recommended studying the music theory as tho we were playing in the key of C. 

I Want You With Me is in E and we play an A harp. So when writing out the Root, 3rd, 5th, and their corresponding holes, should I do that for the key of C and not the key of E (on my A harp)? 

Is this still the recommended approach? continue reading...