Ask Instructor David Barrett

Hello David,
I work on an offshore oil rig and cannot practice much and also its impossible for me to try and learn anything new...Its when i'm at home that I can learn new lessons etc... Please tell me what would be the thing to practice to stay on top of what I learnt and not slip back every time i'm away on the rig? if that is possible!!
In other words what exercises would you suggest I practice as I can only practice for about 20 minutes approximately everyday even with that sometimes I may skip a day or two in between.

Hi David. I just bought a older Shure 545S on ebay and it is on the way. I didn't do a lot of research before pulling the trigger and bought it on a whim. Looks like I need to buy a 4 pin cord in order for it to work? Do you have any suggestions where I might find one (other than the bay)? This is a low impedance mic, can it be rewired for high impedance? Or do I have to use my low to high adaptor? My low to high adaptor has 3 pin to 1/4" jack, will that work with the 4 pin cable? Thanks for your help.

Hi David,
Quick question: Where in my intermediate studies would be appropriate to fit in the Rice Miller Study?
-Taylor

I am in love with your site awesome work David. But i'm new to the site and i find myself jumping all over the place. So i decided to start with Blues for Big Nate. i really like that slow blues and i find it has a lot of little useful licks contained in it. i looked at the beginning material and found it a little easy, i am a beginner but i practice a lot of hours a day. I spend many hours in my car driving and practicing. Anyway i want to jump into some of the improvising stuff i looked at it briefly but i don't have a Bb harp yet own about 8 that isn't one will soon. continue reading...

G'day David,
i am stuck in mid stride with the The Strut. Actually 2 places...just 2 notes. its definitely my technique but i cant quite work out what i am doing. its been going on for months. i can play the whole song at full speed and pretty comfortable...except for these 2 notes continue reading...

So I finally found a local harp master, a great guy and a good friend. So now what do I do? He is a great player and happy to help me, but he is not really a teacher, so I don't know where to go next. Sit down and do some call and response to pick up a few licks? Pick a song and work it out from start to finish? I am trying to just figure out the best use of our time together, which is limited. continue reading...

Hi David,

I can't get the video "How to Practice a Lick - Part 1" from Joe's lesson 26. All the others work well but this one gives a blank screen.

Best,

Eddy

Hi David,

I have a few questions on keys. First of all, how do you determine what key a song is in when you hear it? Is this something that just comes eventually with experience? Is there anything one could do to jump start this process? I know that there is a listing on your harmonicamasterclass website but I was wondering if you had any tips for how to determine what keys songs are in or exercises to develop the skill. There are some non-harmonica songs that I'd like to jam along with eventually. continue reading...

Are there any warm up exercises that you would recommend doing at the start of a practice session?

Or do you think its best to just jump straight into the music?

Thanks - I'm trying to get a bit more structured with my practice sessions and am a little unsure how to work them.

Hi David,

When bending with compromised tuning, do you bend down relative to the unbent pitch or do you bend down to the exact pitch?

For example, the 4 draw on a MB/S20 is +10 cents. On a MB/S20 C harmonica in proper factory tune, while practicing your 4 draw bend with a tuner, would you bend down to a Db +10 cents or just a Db 0 cents?

-Taylor