Ask Instructor David Barrett

hi david,

my way of praticing the study songs is to listen to them about 20 to 50 times before practicing. then i go through each chorus with the videos and parallell i play to the mp3 track (including your harmonica) just as far as I got with the videos. It really would be great to have a video of you playing the whole study song. just because it's much more fun to play along with you than to play along with a white triangled button or with the itunesscreen .-) so - no critique but just a wish powered by emotions - isn't it all about that? :-) 

hi david,

my way of praticing the study songs is to listen to them about 20 to 50 times before practicing. then i go through each chorus with the videos and parallell i play to the mp3 track (including your harmonica) just as far as I got with the videos. It really would be great to have a video of you playing the whole study song. just because it's much more fun to play along with you than to play along with a white triangled button or with the itunesscreen .-) so - no critique but just a wish powered by emotions - isn't it all about that? :-) 

Hi David,

I have to choose one jam track to perform accompainement on single notes. Can I use one of my own jam tracks or you prefer one of yours ?. I would mantein same key but I would like to use a littler more pushing jam trak in terms of speed.

Thanks.

Hi, David! I'm at step 1 of Level 1, never hold a harp in my hand before and I am so glad to be here.

I'd like to make some request to You. Could You make a video lesson demonstrating all single notes of all keys of harps You use in this course. Not a big deal for You but it will be very helpfull for beginners like me. I do have a tuner but some time not sure about fullness and  quality of sound I make. Please excuse my English, I'm from outside of US.

Thank You! Eugene.

Hi David...I have a question about Solo Harmonica, Study 3, example 2.5.  The second note(s) are three notes played together like a chord, with an X underneath.  How should one play these notes?  It's not the usual way to notate a pull, but, it sounds like a very subtle pull in the recording.  It is repeated several times throughout, only this example, that I can tell.  Looks and sounds like a pull, but is it a pull?

Thanks in advance.

Homer.

Hi David. I play my marine band crossover with satisfaction. Now I'm working on draw bending. My A harp seems very hard to bend on 4 draw. I own the same harmonica in Bb and in G, there that bend is easier, the same happens with 5 draw. I know that 5 draw is a little bend but what about the 4 ? It could be that this particular harp is hard on that 4 ? Or is that related to the tuning of tha A harp ? On my golden melody always in A the bend comes very easy.

Good Afternoon Sir,

I am a fairly big man with even bigger hands, I've been playing randomly for a while but this is my first time taking it seriously. I watched the video on holdong the harmonica but my hands are too big to cup each other and the harmonica without any openings or gaps somewhere like it showed in the lesson, do you have any suggestions that may work for someone with bigger hands than normal like myself? Thank you in advance for your time.

Respectfully,

Cpl Joshua Nelson

Hi David,

I'm working hard on the accompainement study song "Blues creepin over me".

Harmonica solo chorus, bar 11.

As written I'm supposed to slap every eight note but B that has a dip. According with your video it looks like you don't slap evey note and I also find myself doing some legato. Is that ok ?, I would slap the 1st note of each triplet.

Thanks

Hi David.  Is good acoustic tone considered a fundamental?  (I haven't practiced amplified yet).  Or, is it something which will continually improve over the years?  I believe I'm practicing good technique and habits.  I'm wondering, because being a perfectionist, I sometimes feel I shouldn't move on to a next chorus of a study song until it sounds exactly like your recording.  I'm at the 2nd chorus of Gary's Blues right now (I know you're playing amplified) and with the slaps and pulls I'm getting a little frustrated with focusing on more on tone that it' continue reading...

Sorry David, I Don't understand how many exercises I have to record. :)