Ask Instructor David Barrett

Ok, so we know Little Walter liked to use fake octaves in his chromatic playing, but what about fake octaves on the diatonic? I notice a few instances where William Clarke does this, probably the best know to students would be the last fill of the William Clarke artist study (2/4 draw). When are these appropriate and which hole combos work?

-Taylor

Sorry but I don't see the new link for this.

Hi David
Maybe missed something

started Accompaniment Study 6
at 2.2 chorus go I7, IV7 ,I7,I7 and next regular
,until now chorus Started I7 , I7 , I7 , I7

saw it in Split TB #4

when to start like 2.2 Or reg way

Thanks
Eli

Hi David

In L.O.A. Leval 2 begginner I noticed ex 2.7 written Music Theory Study 1 – Section 2 under G 2 / 3 + and under B 10 * + does not fit in the box. in other words you have to keep typing to fit it. and not sure if it will show when sent to you.. other people have sent there stuff in on the post's. and if any 1 has asked about this.? Just curious.

Thanks Harplayer

Hi David, you have been really busy.

What part of your tongue do you use when doing the Octaves on a Chromatic harmonica? I know the mouth has to be wide. Is it different than the Diatonic?

Thank you so much

Will

Hi David...I am currently in an acoustic guitar duo. Although some of our songs are in the blues category, many are not. I'd like to be able to play harmonica on other types of songs also. Some of our songs are in a minor key, some have a pop strum feel, some are in open tunings, etc. What would you recommend I look to on your site? Would 1st position help me? I am probably an early intermediate in terms of skill level. I haven't tried to learn my high end bends yet, if that helps you at all, but I am pretty good at the low bends. Thanks...

Interesting timing! In your tip of the day, you are currently talking about freqency of tremolo, shakes, etc. When I was recently studying "Walk With Me" for level 1 LOA, I determined that your tremolo on it was pretty much always triplet-frequency. In fact, it sent me back to the drawing board to try to get better frequency control of my own tremolo (only semi-successfully) to try to master the triplet-tremolo technique. My own has alway been, let's call it "eclectic" in frequency. continue reading...

Good morning David,

I'm currently working on Solo Harmonica Study 1. Ex. 1.10 (from James Cotton's "3-Harp Boggie") is indeed, like you said, a tongue-twister! (To really develop my ability to tongue-switch between hole 1 and 2 I've been warming up with Ex. 1.3 and 1.8, switching (or trying) back and forth between holes 1 and 2.) Doing it lip-pursed is no problem, but tongue-blocked... it's tricky.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.
Dutch Martin

Hi David,
Any tips on improving my vibrato? I feel I have 2 types of vibrato: too fast and weak, or controlled but harsh and too "cough-like". Any recommendations on exercises I can do to improve my control and quality of tone? Thanks.

Mackie Sheckfee

Hi David, continue reading...