Tip of the Day

Watching your foot while playing is helpful. If you find your foot stall, then you don't own that particular passage. This is what I said a couple of tips ago. Now let's make sure you REALLY are in time. Set your metronome to the desired tempo of the song you're working on and place it next to your foot. This will help you to stay in time with your metronome by giving you a visual confirmation of the tapping of your foot. As you develop your awareness of what your foot is doing this won't be necessary, but this is a good way to get started.

Once you can tap your foot in time while playing (this takes practice in your formative years), it can be the best indicator of when your rhythm gets off. If your foot stutters or stalls, this indicates a part of the song you don't own the rhythm of yet. Practice this part of the song in isolation until you can comfortably play the passage without your foot hesitating.

P.S., it doesn't matter whether you tap the front of your foot (ball), back (heel), alternate between the two or tap both feet alternately... as long as something is tapping consistently.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Playing in time is challenging, and when you think your timing is good, then try playing with a metronome. The skill you're developing is a listening skill. You listen to the metronome (which is a stand-in for another musician) and adjust your playing to stay in time with it. Just like when riding a bike with a friend and trying to hold a conversation, you're consistently adjusting your speed so that you're within comfortable speaking/hearing range. As soon as you lose concentration, you're soon too far behind/ahead to continue the conversation. continue reading...

I nice interview with Jason Ricci in Blues Blast Magazine's latest issue http://www.bluesblastmagazine.com/issue-9-19-may-7-2015/

If a reed doesn’t produce any sound it could be broken. But first it might be stuck with dried salvia or way too much spit in the harp. Do not try to force the reed free by blowing or drawing hard on that one hole (if the reed suddenly releases, this powerful force can break the reed), OR stick something in the hole to free the reed. Play a gentle chord (include the offender in the chord), blow and draw, with a big flow of air. continue reading...

Kinya Pollard (the HarpSmith) has provided a lot of very good instruction on harmonica repair, upgrades, and upkeep on the website. Please make note that for repairing and modifying harmonicas that you have to look at and adjust a lot of reeds to be able to do a professional job. continue reading...

I mentioned some benefits of playing softly. One of the key benefits is the longevity of your harps. However, a major epiphany for me as a player was when I realized just how softly and relaxed Big Walter was playing (he’s my favorite classic player). Everyone recognizes Big Walter’s tone as being fantastic. Both Big and Little Walter played softly for the majority of what they played, giving them great dynamic range for when they wanted to “hit it hard.” continue reading...

We’ve all heard David’s advise… if you want your harps to last longer “Play Softly.” It’s true. Just because that pro you admire plays really hard, it doesn’t mean they’re not breaking harps. I can honestly say if you have a harp fail quickly, it was caused by the operator. We just like to think that the new harmonicas are not being made as good as they used to be or one model lasts longer than another. The worst thing you can do is to play your harps loudly. continue reading...

Harmonica customizer Jon Harl and I often discuss issues commonly experienced by my students and his customers… most often being focused on playability, tone and most commonly longevity. He works on some of my student’s harps and it’s common for me to receive a note from him like, “Please nudge your student to play softer, he’s killing his harps!” I asked him to write some Tips of the Day. Hearing from a person that works on harmonicas daily brings an interesting insight into proper technique. Thanks Jon!

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For those that weren't able to make the CD release party, here's Aki and I improvising a tribute to Little Walter.

David Barrett and Aki Kumar pay Tribute to Little Walter
https://youtu.be/y0hCpyiBAmg