Tip of the Day

Having trouble controlling the 3 draw half step or whole step bends? The key is in using the front (3') and middle (3") of your tongue. If you hump the back of your tongue it will jump your bend to the bottom (3'''). Experiment with humping different areas of your tongue... in this case the middle to front. One way to also approach it is to bend all the way down (3''') and slide your tongue forward (not down)... as your tongue moves forward hump the front of your tongue at the same time (transferring the control more frontal in your mouth)... both slowly... continue reading...

If a 3 draw is prominent in your "A" lick (held for a while) it will be dissonant over the IV7 Chord and may be dissonant over the V7 Chord. Our 3 draw rule is...

I7 Chord = 3 (B... 3rd of the chord)
IV7 Chord = 3' (Bb... flat-7th of the chord)
V7 Chord = 3" (A... 5th of the chord)

These changes makes for some great phrasing and a note that matches well over each chord.

Here's some free jam tracks associated with the Guitar Center King of the Blues contest. Thanks to member Jon Harl for reminding me about these. http://gc.guitarcenter.com/kingoftheblues/tracks/?track=16

If your tongue is sore after playing (or practicing tongue blocking if it's a new technique for you) then you're pushing too hard. If you're pushing hard to block the holes needed, then use more of the top of the tongue (wider surface). Tip the face of the harmonica down slightly and bring the harmonica in your mouth a little bit more (tip of the tongue goes on the bottom cover plate). The wider surface also glides on the harmonica better.

Each model of harmonica uses slightly different dimensions for length, height, depth and hole spacing (as well as the size of the holes... this is mostly a factor of how thick the walls of the comb are). How the reed plate, comb and cover plates meet also affect its feel. The Special 20 for example uses inset reed plates and the Marine Band uses sandwiched reed plates (sits directly on the comb). The beveled edges (if any) of the teeth of the comb also affects how it feels (Marine Band has none, while the Marine Band Deluxe has a slight bevel). continue reading...

Here's a critique of a student's recent (this morning!) submission for the first final homework assignment in Improvising Study 1. I thought you might like to see what the process is...

CH1 - The last note you play in the first and second line is one 2 draw. I
recommend that you play two 123 chords there (like you did in bars 3 and 7).
CH2 - Your fills are very nice in this chorus, but are using a large range
of the harmonica and stealing away the excitement of the higher end...
something I recommend for later in the song... don't give it to them yet... continue reading...

I and my experts on the forum are here to help you... please feel free to post in our forums as you need the help. I'm here to help you with questions relative to your studies on the site... Winslow is here to answer everything else... and our other experts are here to help you with your equipment questions.

The Natural Minor tuning is built to help the 2nd Position player play in Minor. This is for our Blues, Country, Rock and any other style player that plays in 2nd Position. The Harmonic Minor tuning is built to help the 1st Position player play in minor. The 1st Position player is commonly the person who likes to play folk tunes... melody is the focus. Even though we're most familiar with 2nd Position, there's tons of melody players out there and this Harmonic Minor tuning is for them.

First of all, Natural Minor and Harmonic Minor, though similar, are two different scales. The Natural Minor scale contains a lowered 3rd, 6th and 7th relative to the Major Scale (the one we're used to). The Harmonic Minor scale contains a lowered 3rd and 6th, leaving the 7th untouched. This "raised" 7th scale degree creates a powerful leading tone to the root note (B to C, in a C Major Scale, is a half step away... the B yearns to go to C). If you have a piano give this a try to listen to the difference.

Let's look again at the standard tuning systems for the diatonic harmonica (C Major Diatonic Harmonica).

C E G C E G C E G C = BLOW
D G B D F A B D F A = DRAW

Here is the C Major Diatonic Scale: C D E F G A B C D

The Harmonic Minor tuning is designed to play in minor in 1st Position.

Here is the C Harmonic Minor Scale: C D Eb F G Ab B C

Here's the harmonica now...

C Eb G C Eb G C Eb G C = BLOW
D G B D F Ab B D F Ab = DRAW

Why would one choose to play in 1st Position (this Harmonic Minor tuning) over 2nd Position (the Natural Minor tuning we looked at before)?