Tip of the Day

Anyone working on tongue blocking techniques will benefit from the use of the Tongue Block Trainer. I use the TBT in my lesson videos at BluesHarmonica.com so that students can see what I'm trying to get them to do. I also give the TBT to each of my private students at School of the Blues so that I can ensure that their tongue is doing the techniques properly. You can see more details about the TBT at the Filisko Store here: http://www.filiskostore.com/page/480389598

Let's get back to the School of the Blues House Band Standards List. Rock Me Baby is our next song listed and is a good example of a standard shuffle (bordering on slow blues) made cool with the simple addition of a hook. The hook on the harmonica is below.

2nd Position (F Harmonica)
I7 = 2 2" 2 or 6+ 5 6+
IV7 = 4+ 3' 4+
V7 = 4 4+ 4

3rd Position
I7 = 4 4+ 4
IV7 = 2 2" 2 or 6+ 5 6+
V7 = 3" 2 3" or 6 6+ 6

Simple, but powerful, tip today. Take each lick/song you learn and play it up an octave.

A nice introduction to the area with the Musselwhite family https://youtu.be/eNKrLBzKiNc

This song is in the School of the Blues House Band Standards list because it shows the typical approach to breaks in a slow blues. Note that this is not a twelve bar progression, but a sixteen bar. What makes it sixteen is the fact that the first line is doubled (8 bars of the I Chord instead of 4). This is a typical treatment for a song with breaks, and a player should listen carefully in bar 4 for any movement to a IV chord or if it stays static... this is an easy place to make an error if you're not aware of the fact that breaks in the beginning of a song could indicate a 16 bar form. continue reading...

Crosscut Saw is one of the common examples of the rumba in the blues. The rumba bass line is fun to play on the harmonica and one of the rare bass lines we commonly play along with the bass player verbatim. Here's the bass line as played on the harmonica...

Basic Version
I = 2 3 4
IV = 1+ 2+ 3+ or 4+ 5+ 6+
V = 1 2' 3"

Version that the bass player plays in this song
I = 2 3 4 5+ 4
IV = 1+ 2+ 3+ 3" 3+ or 4+ 5+ 6+ 6 6+
V = 1 2' 3" 3 3"

It's important to spend time on this standard due to the fact that it's commonly called as the last number of the night. I can't tell you how many times this song was called at the end of a harmonica blowout.

There are two common approaches harmonica players can take...

The easiest is the call and response horn line that James Cotton uses, which is 2 2 2 (2 draw... the root note played three times) after each vocal line of Muddy. This is simple, but catchy and effective. When on the V Chord (bar 9) improvise a V-IV-I lick and turnaround. continue reading...

The standard thing to do is to learn what Rice Miller played and you play it as well. Since this song is in minor, I recommend that you make sure to play all of the 3 draws as 3' (matching the minor 3rd found in minor) and deemphasize, or delete all together, 2+'s and 5+'s (the major 6th will clash in minor).

Another approach is to create your own solo. If you do this, make sure to stay to the Blues Scale (http://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/movement_exercises_study_2_scales), it contains no notes that will clash with minor.

Just in case you missed this on NPR Saturday featuring Howard Levy http://www.npr.org/2015/12/26/460860955/pocket-sized-revolution-behind-t...

Now that you've studied the hook you can decide to play it or not. Though playing the hook is the standard way of playing a hook-based groove, another approach works better for this song. Listen to how Rice Miller plays a draw chord (holes 1, 2 and 3) on beat 2 and the "and" of 2. This aligns with the back-beat of the snare drum. This is a good sound... it's the way most players approach accompaniment for this song.

If the approach is to play the draw chord(s) for the i7 Chord, then it's a good idea to play the blow chord (1+, 2+ and 3+) for the iv7 Chord. continue reading...