Ask Instructor David Barrett

Morning David,

Might seem a bit of a daft question this, but here goes. Whether I'm playing a solo, an accompiament or study song, as I play the harmonica to the jam track, I tap my foot to the beat, but as I tap my foot I count the beats off in my head per bar 1,2,3,4 and repeat this process until the jam track ends. My question is, is there a better way of staying in time with the beat rather than keep counting out the beat in my head. Hope this makes sense.

Regards,

Paul

There have been lots of questions in the past about tongue switching and I've got one I can't find an answer to by searching. My personal issue is I pucker hole one so I'm starting to work on tongue blocking out of the left side of my mouth as instructed on Level 1. My question is more about when to use this left side open embouchure. Is it only to play hole one? Or is it to go to any hole from anywhere on the harmonica to a lower hole? continue reading...

Sometimes there's just so much information available on the site I can't always remember where I saw or read something. My question is did you recommend to someone that it might be a good idea to devote one day per week to reviewing study songs, and other material I want to keep fresh, by playing them to jam tracks? It sounds like a good idea as it's a break from the daily routine and would keep everything interesting. Thanks!

Both No Sweat & Gary's Blues use the same jam track, the Texas Swing in D from Ultimate Jam.  But the sheet music for these songs show a different chord progression for the 3rd line.  Gary's Blues denotes a V7-IV7-I7-V7 progression and No Sweat denotes a ii-V-I.  Yet when I listen to the jam tracks downloaded from this site, the chord progressions sound identical, as indeed they should, since they use the same titled jam track.  I also listened to the Texas Swing in D from the Ultimate Jam CD, and it too, sounds identical to the study song jam tracks, differing only continue reading...

David,

     I've been playing, jamming even gigging with my own bands for 35+ years but trying to improve my sound and deal with fundamental weaknesses that I have been aware of.

     Working with the Filisko TBT and the most basic materials on the site exposed in my view some basic bad habits in my tongue block playing that I was not aware of, even though I am complemented by other musicians and audiences on my sound.These are going to take much time and effort to correct. continue reading...

Hey David thank you so much for the David's Corner. I got alot of answers from your segment.

I am at the level where I can play The Split and most of Blues For Paul Delay and most of the Chromatic songs.

I have difficulty in finding Tab Books that give me songs that would be my skill level.

I have purchase 4 Hal Leonard tab books. They are all great, but they seem way too difficult either to play or to follow along with the tab. continue reading...

Hi David,

I'm gradually starting to build my licks for the chorus form and can utilise them in the AAA, AAB and AB/AC forms, however when I try to ncorporate fills either made up by myself or from the study songs, I more often than not cannot keep time and then I get totally lost. I've tried slowing the jam tracks down, but still find myself in difficulty as described above.

Regards,

Paul

Hi David,

I'm still trying to fully wrap my head around the whole "always referencing the C harmonica" thing.  I get it when it comes to scale degrees (as you talked about in MT Study 2) but when it comes to the actual reading of your music notation on The Strut, all written note are tabbed with C harp notation and the D harp that I'm playing doesn't match the notes as written. continue reading...

David,

Are you slapping the last two 45 notes of the 7th measure in the 5th chorus of Gary's Blues? I'm finding that sequence of 5 times (45) - after the pull 5+ 4 3 in the 6th measure - is coming out as a messy blur.

Thanks,

Kirsty

Searched for Interviews but couldn't find what I was looking for so thought I'd ask for a short answer. Your interviews are remarkable from who've you've got to contribute, the content they provide and the sheer magnitude of the information. Wondering if there are any individuals you've interviewed who might offer the most to a relative beginner? I'm guessing the role Gary Smith played in helping to form your playing style makes him an obvious candidate. Any others or any particular videos? Thanks!