Ask Instructor David Barrett

When playing a slapped note, it is my understanding the cord comes prior to the beat so that the single note is played on the beat.  What about dipped notes?  Should the bent part (dip) precede the beat leaving the correct pitch on the beat?

Brian in Tennessee

Hello Dave,

When practicing a vibrato (in this case I visualisze holes 1 through 6) should I aim to get the pich as close as possible to the intended note or can I vibrate it a little flatter?

when I bend it a bit I find it easier to get a vibrato out of it.

Bent notes are easy to vibrate but unbent ones not so much..

I guess what I am trying to ask is how flat is too flat?

Another case is when bringing note up from a bend to it's natural pitch and then finnishing with a vibrato. continue reading...

For someone with limited time, how many lessons do you recommend per month? How much time per day?

I'm having trouble with solo harmonica study 1 section 2. What happens is I get too much air in my lungs from all the consecutive draws. It gets to a point where eventually I just have to let some air out and end up blowing when I'm not supposed to. How can I solve this issue?

Thanks!

I'm having trouble with solo harmonica study 1 section 2. What happens is I get too much air in my lungs from all the consecutive draws. It gets to a point where eventually I just have to let some air out and end up blowing when I'm not supposed to. How can I solve this issue?

Thanks!

I think I just wasted another $60 or so, and another week, buying the wrong key of harmonica. I just bought a C Hohner Blues Harp. I could've sworn I watched an introductory video on this site that said to use a C harmonica. Google says C is the place to start learning blues on harmonica. But then I hit another video, and it's not right. 

So, please tell me what key of Hohner Blues Harp I should buy to get the most out of the instruction material here, so that when I blow into hole 6 it matches what I hear in the video, for example?. 

I think I just wasted another $60 or so, and another week, buying the wrong key of harmonica. I just bought a C Hohner Blues Harp. I could've sworn I watched an introductory video on this site that said to use a C harmonica. Google says C is the place to start learning blues on harmonica. But then I hit another video, and it's not right. 

So, please tell me what key of Hohner Blues Harp I should buy to get the most out of the instruction material here, so that when I blow into hole 6 it matches what I hear in the video, for example?. 

this might not be the right place but ... I just received a notice that flash will be done at the end of 2020 . Will I need something else for my computor to continue playing or am i fine ??? Thanks

Hi Dave

Is improvising study 1 any different in levels 4 and 5?

Hi David,

Thank you for the lesson on high end playing. I am still trying to figure out scale degrees and how to use them and you always teach as if we are using the C Scale or C harmonica.

In the PDF for high end playing the notation is in C i.e. 7 is a B 7+is a C, but the scale degrees seem to be for the key of G. Or am I misinterpreting things?

What is the best approach to think of scale degrees moving forward and is it good practice to know the scale degrees for each chord?

regards

Alan