Ask Instructor David Barrett

David,

Has anyone else been having issues with the loading of the videos lately? I noticed over the last month it getting
slower but now it is just about un-usable for me. I tried 3 computers in my house and they are all the same.

Thanks 528hemi

David, how do you apply the chorus forms to the I chord in a 16 bar blues? Would you treat it the same way as a four bar I chord and just repeat the idea or develop an extended four-bar lick and repeat that?

Hi David

Having a problem with the new vids. In Joe T section when I click on the new ones ( Ex: Another Student songwriting ) it goes to the black screen . And I don't see the play arrow. I can watch the vids where J.T. is just starting beginning w/ J.T and Gary Smith vids w/ masking . I have Adobe flash player n Quick Time. and it still doesn't play.They just don't load at all Maybe it something on your end .

Thanks

Dave, before I get any deeper into my lessons, I just wanted to ask you, How do I know when to play a slap or a pull? Maybe I heard you explain it before, on one of your videos, but I just cant remember. Thanks Dan

An informed student is a better student, and this site -good for us- is all about it

Beeing everithing scientific and carefully thought in your method your omission of the slaps notation must have clear didactic reason.

I figured out you did so to make us student work on our listening and ear training. continue reading...

Dave, where could i purchase a chord chart for the different harmonica chords? Do you have something like that , in store? Thanks Dan Fout

I have been practicing some improvising by keeping a rhythum and then playing any riffs that comes to me but always going back to my basic syncopated rhythum. ( -2, pull, 2 ,pull, -1 ,pull , 2, pull)

Is this what is called Vamping? Also without putting it into a 12 bar blues, is it beneficial and do players play this way when soloing? continue reading...

Hello David,

I'm a new student who appreciates all the work that has gone into the creation of this website to help students learn blues harmonica. I'm trying to follow the Study Plan and also follow Joe Tartaglia's progress, but I'm missing something. The Study Plan materials are organized by Skill Levels and subdivided into Sections and Studies. By contrast Joe's lessons are organized by Lesson Number. What's the correspondence between Joe's Lesson Numbers and the Section and/or Study Numbers?

Thanks,
Bill Owen
Professor56

Just a quick note to say thanks for all the cool material recently uploaded - the James Harman track, all the improvising lessons, the great songwriting submissions from Gary Smith and Mark Hummel, Joe Filisko's submissions, Aki Kumar's entertaining blues contest journey, Joe Tartaglia's lessons and now Steve Guyger's Snake Oil - a track I really love and have been messing around with for a while. This site keeps getting better and better!

Dave, you told me that a chromatic tuner would help me see how far my bends are going. This may sound like a weird question, what if I play a diatonic harp? Is that the same difference? Thank you Dan