Ask Instructor David Barrett

Hi Mr. Barrett-

I can't seem to figure out how to blow bend using the TB embouchure. But I am very comfortable with my draw bends. Could you share some tricks/tips?

Thanks!

Hi David,

When improvising, will it be ok to say mix licks from temperature and rollin rhumba even though temperature is in second position and rollin rhumba is in third position.

Regards,

Paul

Hi Dave

I have asked questions about the hand wa wa before but now some more things have occurred to me.

I have been looking at your post of 27.8.13 "Wa Wa without dips". As I understand it you are saying that the dip should be played on only the first "wa of the Hand". However, the notation in Ex.1 of the cupping and hand effects study seems to go against this i.e. bar 8 and 9. Is this a special case for this particular exercise? continue reading...

Recently watched the Ryan video with the special mic. Not having one I looked around and found an inexpensive Garrity flashlight in the basement. It's 2 1/2 inches in diameter at the light end. It's a good sized flashlight as it takes large D cells but just two so it's not crazy long or heavy. While the light only goes forward it's possible to see issues in the cup on the front end as the light hits my face or chest. Light reflecting off my face can be enough to show other cupping issues. continue reading...

Ho David!

In the level 5 submission, ex 2.3 is asked to play the 10 holes in 12 bar blues.

Until now we never studied blow bends, on the hole 9 there is that F# that is a blow bend, should I learn to play it now or I can skip that one like the one on the hole 10 ?

Thanks.

In your Accompaniment book's  Ex. 2.7 on page 7, and elsewhere, there's a + sign used as notation over the music that I can't identify in the Harmonica Notation listed on page 3. Hoping you can clarify it's meaning and intent. Thanks!

I have really enjoyed the Masco Chronicles. Skip and Mark are great resources! Thanks for doing that.

I believe Mark may have misspoken regarding pre-amp tubes (in "Looking Inside the Masco"). As I understand it, the 6SL7 preamp tube (the stock one) is a higher gain (70 or 80%), between a 12AT7 and 12AX7, and the 6SN7 is lower gain (around 20%), more like the 12AU7.  I think Mark reversed the values.

Thanks again!

Hi.  In My Blues, 4th course, measure 9, you've got two As with a dip.  My ears aren't good enough to figure out what's really going on.  Are you dipping up from below an A into an A, or up from an A? 

Thanks

In the first chorus of The Split there is a pull noted as a blow pull +5 +4 +3 +2 in the 4th and 8th measures. When I listen to you play it in the lesson it sounds like the draw pull 4 3 2 1 just before it or a draw pull 5 4 3 2. Same on the mp3 file.  This also happens in the second chorus.

Hi David, i'm a little confusing to do accompaniment test in LOA 3.

I already watch the videos but i still have some doubts.

For example:

At hole 5 we don't have a note in the I neither in the V, then should i play the I of the hole 4, D, and the V of the hole 4, that is D too?

At hole 3 we don´t have a note in the V then i should play the V of the hole 1, D?

Some holes sounds weird.