Tip of the Day

Play a note... any note... for about three seconds. While holding this note try to keep the volume the same at the beginning, mid point and end. Did you just do it? Good. Now, never do that ever again! :-)

This tip comes from student Hank Stefaniak, "Another cool app for the iPad is 'forScore.' It allows you to download PDFs directly from a web site and then attach an MP3 sound file so you can follow the score as you listen. You can also have the pages turn automatically by entering the Tempo of the song and the number of bars on the page. Practicing specific songs on the road is a lot easier with no paper to pack and shuffle. It also allows annotation on the score. Interesting app that is worth cheating out to see if it would work for you." Thanks Hank.

For those of you using iPad and iPod and want to watch lesson videos on the site, Puffin Web Browser App By CloudMosa is a good solution. We're in the process of reincoding videos to be iPod and iPad friendly at BluesHarmonica.com, but it's still going to be some time (working on it every night), and this is a good solution until then.

What were mentioned before as blessings also lead to one of our curses... since we don't have to learn about keys, scales and chords in our formative years, when it comes to communicating with other musicians we're illiterate. Make sure to watch the Performance Training lessons on the site, specifically Groove; Openings, Endings & Breaks; and down the road the Theory and Accompaniment Playing lessons. It's also a great idea to study books like Alfred's Essentials of Music Theory, Complete. continue reading...

The majority of technique performed on the harmonica is hidden. You can't see what I'm doing and I can't see what you're doing. YOU can't see what you're doing.

The tongue is responsible for all good and evil on the harmonica.

If your tone is thin... a note bends, squeals or stalls unintentionally... a bend goes too far or not far enough... your tongue is in the wrong place. If your tone is good and you're able to control a bend at the correct pitch... your tongue is in the right place.

Get to know your tongue. continue reading...

What can I say... it's portable. Throw it in your pocket and go! In college I petitioned to have a strings class started. In college it was my goal to learn each instrument well enough to play at a high school level... all in order to understand and write for each instrument well. The only thing I requested was to not have to play the bass. I'm not talking an electric Fender P-Bass... a full-sized upright acoustic concert bass. I was driving a '64 Chevy Nova II Super Sport that my dad restored... 6 cylinder... he didn't feel the boys needed a V8 :-(... continue reading...

The 12 Bar Blues offers harmonica players a consistent structure to play over. Most other styles contain a form that commonly changes from song to song (length and chords used), making each song played unique. With the consistent structure of blues, the licks and movements learned in one song are very applicable to being used in another song. Upon learning a number of shuffles for example, this shuffle lick vocabulary can lead to the opportunity to use them again in your own arrangement while improvising to a new shuffle. continue reading...

Your C Major Diatonic Harmonica uses the C Major Diatonic Scale. The Major scale is built with 5 whole steps and 2 half steps. The half steps are placed between the 2nd and 3rd scale degrees and 7th and 8th scale degrees. The scale turns out to be C D E F G A B C. As a piano player you would play all white keys. For the piano player to play the B Major Diatonic Scale they would start on the B key on the piano and make sure to use all of the whole steps and half steps in their proper order, which would equal B C# D# E F# G# A# B. As a harmonica player we just grab the B Harmonica. continue reading...

Your C Major Diatonic Harmonica only contains the notes of the C Major Scale. You can play any hole/note and still be staying away from "bad" notes. On top of that, even if you're going for a specific hole/note and miss it, the hole/note to the left and to the right are harmonies of what you meant to play... it still sounds good! This also means that if you can't even play a single hole/note well, or you're just a little off on your aim, you're playing in harmony... two holes/notes played together sound great. You literately can't go wrong! continue reading...

Keeping your lips, mouth, tongue, throat, neck, shoulders and back (embouchure and auxiliary muscles) relaxed are key to good tone and fast movement (a tensed muscle is a slow muscle). For tongue blockers, a light touch with your tongue on the face of the harmonica is essential (the more pressure you use, the more your tongue pushes into the holes of the harmonica = the more drag you create and the more effort it takes to pull the tongue on and off for our standard tongue blocking techniques and articulations).