Tip of the Day

The fully-closed cup, when playing acoustic, should only be used the moment before a "Wa" affect (closed, then open = Wa). Your cup should then remain open so that we can hear you play. The more open your cup, the less coloration from your hands. The more you close your cup (still leaving a little bit of room for sound to escape), the more hand muting you achieve, thus the more your hands color the sound. Experiment with this to hear the differences in color. How open or closed should you be?... this is personal preference. continue reading...

In the lesson Blues Harmonica Fundamentals I show you three ways to commonly hold the harmonica: "The Pinch" (standard), "End Cap" and "Two Thumbs Up." Whichever way you choose, the goal is to hold the harmonica the same as when you play for yourself, into a vocal mic, or when holding a bullet mic. continue reading...

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"Jazz Insights" with Dr. Gordon Vernick has two new episodes worth listening to. Jazz Rock Fusion, Parts 1 and 2, cover the fusion of Blues, Jazz and Rock in the early 1960s. He even talks about early Skiffle bands. These podcasts are free and can be downloaded here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jazz-insights-dr.-gordon-vernick/id38...

Now that you're focusing on tremolo for those long-held notes at the end of phrases, also decay the volume. Start that last note at the volume you played the previous notes in the phrase and then decay the volume over the length of the notated rhythm of that note until it disappears. It's rare that a final note of a phrase just stops... it decays until it dispersers into the mix of the band. This makes for a MUCH more musical phrase ending and is a common error comment to beginner, intermediate and some advanced student submissions on BluesHarmonica.com

One of the first, and most important, techniques you learn on the harmonica is the tremolo.

The tremolo is achieved by opening and closing your throat at the vocal chords. Try a couple blow coughs, then relax your breath and don't cough so strongly... nice and soft. continue reading...

Now that everything is relaxed and spit isn't running into your harp!... move around the harmonica, making every note played sound warm, full... beautiful.

If you get a little bit of an upper or lower note, adjust and then move on. If a note sounds flat, bent or airy, or the note squeals or stalls (won't sound at all)... adjust your tongue location (usually down). Your goal is to make every note sing with the least amount of effort as possible. continue reading...

Simple tip today... chin up.

I commonly receive questions from students about how to control saliva (especially those new to tongue blocking). In most cases they're practicing at a table or on a bed where the music or computer is low. Get the sheet music (music stand) or computer monitor (some stacked books to elevate?) up higher so that your chin/head is level. In other words, don't have your chin/head lowered so that your spit sides into your harmonica! :-)

Play softly. Warm, radiant air is what you're looking for. A pro player plays at 40% of their capable volume as their normal volume. So, no sucking or blowing... warm, radiant air flowing through the harmonica.

Now that you have your hands, lips and tongue set into a relaxed position...

Place the harmonica a little deeper in your mouth, lower the middle and back of your tongue (the tip-top is on the harmonica, but the middle and back are able to move interdependently to lower for good tone), drop your jaw a bit, and finally open your throat.

A simple way to perform all of this is to use a slight yawn... it will place everything in the same position. continue reading...