Ask Instructor David Barrett

Hi David,

How did you get that beautiful, warm horn sound on the Level 5, Chromatic Study 3 song "Easy Baby"?

Is it all your embouchure, or is some of the tone due to the microphone and amp you're using?

Thanks,

John H.

Hi Dave,

After a year off from my harmonica studies due to a job change, I’m back at it and working on the level 4 Tremolo and Vibrato lesson.  In example #2, at the end of the first line is a triplet 4  3/4’  3’.   How is the 3/4’ played?  I’m assuming it is the 3 and 4 played together with 4 bent ½ step but the 3 won’t bend that much as it requires a larger oral area to bend?  The triplet is played quickly enough that I can’t tell what you are doing in your recording, even when I slow it down, I’m not hearing 2 notes played together. continue reading...

I have read all your amp reviews with great interest, but now my mate is practically giving away his marshall DSL15 head and MX112 cab for a very good price if im wanting it.....Powered by two 6V6 power valves with four ECC83s in the preamp, the DSL15H might be small, but its guts are as serious as its big brother, the DSL100H.

Iwonder if i used a new attenuator if i could be onto something good for home use, otherwise he will sell it for a lot more if its no good for me........thanks for your time  David.

Hello David,

I hope everything is fine. I was doing example 1.1 of Music Theory 2 and while I was doing the F# scale in 7th position I did not know what to write down next. From 6th positon to 7th is 1 tone so it had to move from D# to E#, but as far as I remembered from E to F is half a tone so it had to skip to F directly,and after from F to F#. I checked the solution and the gap was filled with E# but I did not get it since E# does not exist in the piano scale. Why is that so?

Thank you.

Hello there David,

I have been stuck in Level 4 for quite awhile now. I have progressed with Gary's Blues to the point of trying to play along with the jam track, but I am having a lot of trouble knowing where I am in the progession, which, of course, makes it hard to play the choruses.

I am trying to just listen to the jam track without playing along and I even have trouble with that. I don't usually have any trouble knowing where I am in the progression but for some reason this is hard to follow on Gary's Blues . continue reading...

Hello David,   When I am playing note blow 2 I feel there is a leakage of air. I feel as if I have my lips tight but I can hear air leaking from somewhere.  Sorry, I may not be explaining this well.  

Hi David,

Can amazing slowdowner be used with garageband?

I am trying a jamtrack with blues for big nate and would like to slow the jamtrack and record it through garage band. 

Thanks

Saul

Hi David, some instructors as Lee Sankey explain it this way: "Alternate between a tongue block for draw 4 on the left side of your tongue, then move to a tongue block on the right side but for draw 2." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxGljINAEig

In your videos you switch between draw 4 and draw 1. Which is the right way to play it? Thank you.

Hi David,

I know I've asked this before but I still have huge issues with the build up of saliva, particularly when I play something like the final piece in the Solo Harmonica section, so no gaps.

I was hoping that with time my mouth would get used to the harp being there but after a year its still an issue, feels like I'm getting desperate here.

I feel like I've tried everyting, obviously tipping the harp up and my head back, as little breath as possible. With tipping the head back I just end up choking on saliva.

Any tips, please?

Thanks,

Graham

Dave whats the best way to learn harmonica - music wihout having the numbers  ? I can read music but not sure what hole to blow or draw .