Tip of the Day

Before machines and software existed to slow music down we had no choice but to learn/transcribe music at its full tempo. You could change the speed on your record player or use your thumb to slow down the record’s rotation, but the result was a change of key (and not dead-on… it wasn’t like you could grab another key of harp and you were good to go). When Marantz came out with their tape recorder with half speed playback we teachers picked it up (it was expensive… around $600 if I remember correctly). continue reading...

Finally we start the epic series of recording at a professional studio! Your lesson begins with an overview of what's involved in recording at a studio and then we cover a bullet-point list of what's needed to prepare for the process. Next to release in the series will be an interview with students Joel Saal and George Bisharat. Videos Include: Section 1 – The Recording Process: Introduction to Professional Recording Study; Why Record; Choosing Musicians; Ways to Record; Preparing for the Studio; Rehearsing for the Studio; Choosing your Harp Amp; Recording Process; Recording Budget. continue reading...

It’s very common for students to come in after transcribing a bit of music to have parts written, that they're supposedly reading from, but they actually play something slightly different. For example... they may write 4 5+, but actually play 5 6+. To fix this, slowly play out of rhythm (one note per tap of the foot will do), what you wrote. This will stop your muscle memory, which is commonly linked to rhythm, from guiding you towards playing by ear, not what you wrote on the page.

Happy New Year to everyone!

This is pretty simple… you don’t know how to play something and you take the time to learn it and write it down as you go. There’s nothing wrong with learning solos by memory, but the added value of writing them down is that you have something that can be edited over time and is a reference when you want to revisit the song (it’s common to work on a song for a while and then move on to other material, which makes it a high probability that you’ll forget most of what you’ve memorized if you don’t play the song regularly). continue reading...

I realized that I just jumped into transcribing tips and that it would be a good idea to define what transcribing is in detail for everyone. Transcribing is simply listening to what someone else has played on recording and writing down what they did. In its most basic form you write down the hole numbers that they played (blows, draws and bends) and any treatments such as tongue blocking techniques or articulations they used. continue reading...

When working on an exceptionally difficult/fast lick, it can be a good technique to grab the book-end notes first.

Let's use the opening lick to Little Walter's "Off the Wall" for example...

If you focus on the the first note of the ascending passage you'll hear that it's the 2 draw. The next long-held note is 5 draw and then the last note is a 4 draw. continue reading...

I like using a pen when transcribing... the idea that it’s permanent causes me to take my time and confirm that what I'm hearing is correct before penning it to paper.

A turnaround lick with the last note... the 1 draw in most cases... changed to 2 draw will commonly work great as an ending lick.

Turnaround licks (Bars 11 and 12) are in most cases just a short lick (around one bar) with the last note changed to 1 draw (the root note of the V Chord, which is what makes the last two bars of the 12 Bar Blues form a turnaround). Go to Improvising Study 5 - Turnarounds (http://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/improvising_study_5_turnarounds) and take a look at those licks. With this in mind, grab the looped turnaround jam track and experiment with creating your own turnaround.

One of the tips to help new players create the vibrato is to slightly prebend the note before starting the throat tremolo (the motor for the vibrato). One you have a feel for this, stop this practice so that you can play that note in tune.