Tip of the Day

“If you do practice straight scales, practice them in a musical way. Change the dynamics, or even vary the phrasing or the time timing. Most important, listen to each note. A scale is a fantastic thing. It’s the basis of our musical language. Each note has a psychological value, a tendency to settle or lead to another note. Take the time to appreciate the effect of each sound. Notice how it feels in the context of the entire scale. You can discover endless possibilities by enjoying scales this way.” Pg 143, The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music From the Heart by Madeline Bruser

“An exercise is simply a series of notes taken out of normal musical context, and usually sequenced and repeated. Many written exercises are lengthy and unmusical, and practicing them can easily become tedious.” Pg 17,
The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music From the Heart by Madeline Bruser

This is why I base most of your study on the sight on study songs... one chorus equaling about two weeks worth of practice.

“I sometimes point out to a student that their frustration with a piece is an indication that they care deeply about it.” Pg 15, The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music From the Heart by Madeline Bruser

“Everyone starts out in music as a listener. As young children, we hear music with freshness and delight. We fall in love with it and are entranced by the simplest song. But when we start practicing an instrument, we stop listening intently. We become so involved with producing sound that we forget to take it in.” Pg 12, The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music From the Heart by Madeline Bruser

Which embouchure is faster... Pucker or Tongue Block? Answer... there's no difference... they both can play as fast as the other. BUT, the Pucker embouchure can play faster articulations due to the fact that both the back AND front of the tongue are free to articulate (in Tongue Blocking the tip of your tongue is on the face of the harmonica)... think Ta Ka Ta Ka... etc. So... in the end... we all need to know how to do both to be a well-rounded harmonica player.

I provide you with very structured lessons on the harmonica... unprecedented in the history of blues harmonica education. This is your KNOWN element... if you follow the plan I lay down for you, you WILL become a great player. In your journey there will of course be areas of bewilderment... and this is part of the process. You will not always know if you're doing something correctly, or if your time is best spent studying this or that... but understand that it's part of the process. For many, improvising and accompaniment playing is very daunting... it is... continue reading...

If you don't own one, get one. A music stand places your music at the right height and angle for comfortable practice. if you make practice convenient you'll do more of it.

Want to play a song that's a non 12 Bar Blues on the bandstand in a jam situation?... use your fingers! As you're playing, hold the mic and harp with one hand and with the other use one finger for the I Chord... two fingers for the ii Chord... etc. If you place your hand behind your back the audience will never know. You'll of course need to be familiar with the chord changes (ask your guitarist buddy for those) and will want to practice this before hitting the bandstand (it can be hard at first to make signals and play at the same time).

Now play that same note starting at a...

1) Medium volume... going to a very high volume and then very low volume

2) Low volume... going to a very high volume and finishing at a medium volume

3) High volume... going to a low volume and finishing at a medium volume

4) Low volume... going to a very high volume and back down to very low

5) High volume... going to a very low volume and back to a very high volume continue reading...

Now play that same note starting as softly as you can play it... and I mean softly!... make it slowly sound from nowhere, slowly raising in volume until it's very loud.

This is an example of two levels of volume.

Now do the same in reverse.

Now improvise, making every lick start at one volume and ending at another.