Tip of the Day

“Wherever you hope to travel on your musical journey, practice is the only route to getting there. You may wonder whether you possess the talent to reach your goals, but musical progress depends more on practice than on talent. Talent symbolizes your underlying potential; practice enables you to realize that potential. But not just any sort of practice will do.” Pg 3, The Musician’s Way: A Guide to Practice, Performance, and Wellness By Gerald Klickstein

Listen to the newly released "How Jazz Works" parts 3 and 4. Part 3 contains a nice description of the roll that the bass player and drummer takes. If you like this, check out the first two parts. You can hear it here http://1690wmlb.com/features/jazz-insights/ or get it via podcast for free at iTunes.

Steve Baker's Harmonica Masters Workshop 2011 - Concert
You'll most likely start seeing video footage on the concert I just did for Steve Baker's Harmonica Masters Workshop. For your convenience, below is a listing of all of the songs and keys in their order of appearance. I don't remember exactly all the positions played by the artists on the last two songs... as I know I'll let you know.

1) Here We Go (Tramp Groove in G / C Harp in 2nd Po, then Low-F Harp in 3rd Po, then G Harp in 1st Po)
2) Left Overs (Shuffle in C, Low-F Harp in 2nd Po, then Bb Harp in 3rd Po) continue reading...

Do you have mental model of the harmonica? Lee's research says that it's a determining factor in your ability to create on your instrument. I speak about this in the "Improvising Study 8 - Soloing Blocks & Chord Tone Soloing." Read about Lee's research (read the PDF) at http://brainstruments.com/

I'm now in Trossingen, Germany for Steve Baker's Harmonica Masters Workshop. Follow my daily updates with pictures at http://www.facebook.com/bluesharmonica

"Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right." Henry Ford

"The four laws of learning are explanation, demonstration, imitation, and repetition. The goal is to create a correct habit that can be produced instinctively under great pressure. To make sure this goal was achieved, I created eight laws of learning: namely, explanation, demonstration, imitation, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition and repetition." John Wooden

Though chrome bullet mics look killer, they can be tough to hold due to how slippery chrome feels... especially when you get your sweat on after playing for a bit. Even a chrome grill can bring some holding challenges.

Solution #1 - Focus on bringing your palms together FIRST, allowing your mic to sit in the cradle created from both hands. In this case you're not HOLDING the mic, it SITS on your hands. Your fingers then form into their normal cup. This is good cupping advice for anyone... say goodbye to cramping hands. continue reading...

Ever play the harp into a cup, glass or tin can? If not, give it a try, it sounds really cool. Bullet mics are commonly 2.5" in diameter, so if you find one around that size it will feel comparable to what you're already used to holding. Experiment with different materials (glass, tin, ceramic, etc.) and depths, it makes a difference in the sound. Try Wa Wa's, Hand Tremolos and any other hand effect. If you decide to use this on the bandstand, place the vocal mic on your right-hand side (or whichever side you open your hands for your hand techniques... continue reading...

“Struggle is not optional, it’s neurologically required. In order to get your skill circuit to fire optimally, you must by definition fire the circuit sub optimally. You must make mistakes, and pay attention to those mistakes… you must slowly teach your circuit. You must also keep firing that circuit, i.e. practicing, in order to keep myelin functioning properly, after all, myelin is living tissue.” Pg 44, The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How. by Daniel Coyle Notes