Ask Instructor David Barrett

David,

There is no "Submit Recording" button on "3rd Position Study 2".  I tried to submit but couldn't find it.  Is this a bug in the web site, or intentional because subsequent 3rd position lessons will build on this and that's when we submit?

Thanks,

Steve

Hi David,

In the final homework assignment, in LOA 4, Improvising, should the end product be entirely original or should we/can we, borrow licks from material already presented?  In presenting the assignment, you mention both, using original licks and borrowing from already learned material.  (The challenge is to come up with an instrumental using all five chorus forms.)  Making it all original would obviously be more challenging.

Thanks in advance.

Homer.

Hi David. I am starting from the very beginning because I don't want gaps in my studies. Before I started with TB I was just at the point to manage overblows with the pucker. Is it also possible to play overblows with TB? 

Greetings

kai

Hi Dave.  In Temperature, you start out the 3rd chorus by slapping the 3-hole blow note.  I know the chord is supposed to be extremely short, and I'm not doing it short enough, but I clearly hear myself playing a IV chord against a I harmony.  It just doesn't sound right.  Is it OK to play it that way anyway, or should I draw the 2 hole instead? Thanks

Hi David,

I've been listening to Charlie McCoy's recordings after watching his iterview videos.

I like his bluesy and dull tone. Sounds like every note he plays is a bluesy tone.

How does he do that? Is because his customized harmonica? Is a particular model of harmonica? My hearing problem?

Thanks

Simon

Can you suggest a way to approach the five technique exercises?

- is it better to work on one exercise and move on after a couple of weeks, or is it better to practice all of them from the start?

- is it a good idea to change the harp key every day, or is it better to work with multiple keys every day?

  continue reading...

Hi David,

Just wanted to ask - when will the interview with Annie Raines be posted on the site? Looking forward to it.

BTW - if you could get Phil Wiggins to sit down with you, that would be great...

Thanks,

--jd

"to focus on everything is to focus on nothing" .. ok.. that's why practice time should be organized in different areas, and one should work (and focus) on one area at a time.

How about listening? Do you think it's a good idea to structure in a similar way the time we spend on records? Can you give us some very specific example?

I KNOW IT'S NOT AN EASY QUESTION, but I feel it's a crucial subject not often discussed. continue reading...

Hi David! 

 in Juicy harmonica there is a large usage of the 3+,

 I like to TB everything, what kind of articulation can I use?

 I usually use "g" or slap....

thanks

I am having such a tough time with pulls. Pulls are introduced in Solo Harmonica Study 2. I am trying to find where they are actually taught on the site, in depth. Is the introduction to pulls in the video for "Gary's Blues" (LOA 4), on the video "The Pull and the Flutter", or is there somewhere else I should be looking?

My understanding of the pull:

1) Slap a single note-- the 4, for instance.  

2) Use my tongue to block 1-4.  

3) Pull off my tongue to make the sound.   continue reading...