Ask Instructor David Barrett

The "Music Theory Study 1" lesson in level 2 is very interesting, especially section 4.But I have a very important question to ask: in exercise 4.7 you say that the key is often written in chords (for example chord of "F") but studying the first two songs we learned, Walk With Me and Temperature, I find the chords of "I" and "I7" written, and I don't understand how I can find the key? continue reading...

Hello David. I am confused about which key of harp to use in these examples. Initially it appears to be a G harp, but by example 1.5 my A harp seems to be the one that matches what you are playing. In example 6 you talk about the C harp, but to my ear you are playing an A harp still. Could you please clarify?

Thanks,

Geoff

Hello David,

I have been having this dilema for a while.

So far while practicing the blues scale on 2nd posiiton (and as of late on 1st posiiton) I have been aiming to hit that flat third somewhat sharper, all because...well perhaps a missconception of some material I have seen online.

Also when practicing my -3 bending control I practice all of those bends together with that -3 quarter step bend (aiming at about 50C sharper than the -3') so that my tongue and my ears learn to make the difference between both. continue reading...

Hi David,

I like to go back and practice your previous study material in my studies, but the thought occcurred to me while doing this. Take for example the 2 blues songs, "Walk With Me" and "Feelin for the Blues", both are 8 bar blues in the key of "E" and both have 7 choruses and EACH song has 56 licks made up of the 1,4,5. chord changes.  Could you just mix and match these different licks (56 from each song) and come up with completely a different blues song or perhaps songs?? Thx for input. John 

Hi David,

I have a couple of questions: continue reading...

Dear David, I'm thoroughly enjoying your lessons, thank-you so much. I've gone down to my local Music store to buy a Hohner Marine Band Harp in A, and the back of the box lists 4 varieties of Marine Band. Being a raw beginner, I chose the Crossover, as Hohner lists that model as suitable for all genres of music. However, the salesman, who claimed to have 15 years of Harp experience advised me not to choose that model, as it is has a chromatic scale and would be very difficult to learn on, and it isn't set-up for chords, only single notes. continue reading...

I am some overwhelmed by all of the material presented in Level 1. So I am considering using a dedicated iPad for my harmonica study. It will be a huge advantage to have everything in one spot. I seem to spend more time looking for stuff than I do actually working on it.

If you or students have ipad recommendations I would love to hear them. Also which models might be suitable, especially older models due to cost.

I know if I were a better organizer, that would help; so maybe some suggestions about how to organize stuff would also be helpful.

Thanks, continue reading...

Good Morning David,

I have been practicing quite a lot the Solo Harmonica Study 1 examples over the complete 12 bar blues form, but when it comes to the 4 chord in the progression, I would like to play something different to match the 4chord. Can I just "reverse" the blows and draws in the chording example I am using for the 1chord and then will it match the 4chord when it appears in bar 5 & 6 and then return to the i chord example in bars 7 & 8? I hope this is not off topic.  Thx JT

My 2 draw sounds flat. What am I doing wrong?

Hi David, where can I find lessons on overblows.

Many thanks

Paul