Tip of the Day

Behind the blade of the tongue (what we'll call the middle-front) is the area used to control draw bends on holes 5 and 6, and blow bends on holes 7 through 10. This area of the tongue requires the most training and time to develop. The middle or back of the tongue is easy to raise and interact with the roof of the mouth. The middle-front has the challenge of working in the area of the mouth where there's a sharp curvature, between the Post-alveolar and Pre-palatal (location 5 and 6 in the diagram here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alveolar_consonants). continue reading...

Track 1 – “I Say What I Mean” D, G Harp in 2nd
Track 2 – “No More Alcohol” E, A Harp in 2nd
Track 3 – “Must've Been Dreaming” A, D Harp in 2nd
Track 4 – “Stop On By” C, Low-F Harp in 2nd
Track 5 – “Tell Me Everything” G, C Harp in 2nd
Track 6 – “Cottonweed” F, B-flat Harp in 2nd
Track 7 – “Sad, Tired and Worried” F, B-flat Harp in 2nd
Track 8 – “I Am Satisfied” E, A Harp in 2nd
Track 9 – “Cold Stuff” G, C Harp in 2nd
Track 10 – “Real Good Deal” D, G Harp in 2nd
Track 11 – “Quick Draw” D, G Harp in 2nd
Track 12 – “Thank You for the Dance” C, F Harp in 2nd continue reading...

One of my favorite living blues harp player, Jim Liban, just released a new CD! I'm listening to it right now... killer playing. I'll provide you a complete track list of harp keys and positions used Monday. To get you started, the first track he uses a G Harmonica in 2nd Position. Now get to work stealing licks!

"I Say What I Mean"
Jim Liban & The Joel Paterson Trio

iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/i-say-what-i-mean/id893469311

CD Baby
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jimliban

The blade of the tongue is the front of the tongue, just behind the tip. This part of the tongue is used for tongue blocking an octave and for standard single-hole tongue blocking. When performing an octave, your lips surround four holes and with a very light tough, the natural convex shape of the blade of your tongue covers the middle two holes (if you press your tongue on the face of the harmonica too hard you’ll block all four holes, so a light touch is important). continue reading...

The tip of the tongue is used for a single-hole block on the harmonica, like when playing the 1+/3+ and blocking the 2+ (creating the interval of a 5th, C and G while blowing on a C Harmonica). The tip is not used for standard tongue blocking due to its small size (more on this later). The tip is also used for the "T" articulation so common in the pucker embouchure for single notes, or for everyone when articulating chords.

You're probably watching the footage that we recorded yesterday at Skip Simmons' place right now. Many times throughout the day we talked about an amp being more or less distorted. Your simple, but important, tip today is to match opposites. An amp that you feel is too distorted should be matched with a mic that you feel isn't distorted enough, and vice-verse. Don't disregard gear that's "too" this or that... there's a match out there for it.

The state of Louisiana has put up a historical marker in honor of Slim Harpo. Thanks to Joe Filisko's B1 Blues Room for sharing this news. http://theadvocate.com/news/9515995-123/blues-great-slim-harpo-gets

Work on a passage until you feel like you have it. Record yourself playing that passage. Listen to the original recording with sheet music in hand (if available) so you have a clear reference of what the passage should sound like. Listen back to the recording of your performance and with a pencil circle any areas on the transcription that you feel don't quite sound right. Listen back numerous times, to both the original and your recording, to pinpoint exactly what needs work.

Another great value of having a recorder handy is to document your progress when songwriting. After a session of working out ideas for a new instrumental I'll grab my iPhone and use the memo app to do a quick recording of my performance (solo or with a jam track). It's common for many days to go by between writing sessions and it's very easy to forget prior progress. I start a new session listening to my past recording, sometimes even playing along to it. I stop the playback and then get to work. continue reading...

Tom Zoe in Austin doing some great work for seniors: http://www.nextavenue.org/blog/when-music-becomes-your-medicine?utm_sour...