Tip of the Day

Improvising to a non-12 bar blues can be very challenging for new improvisers.

How experienced players do it is by using 1st Position Licks over the IV Chord and 3rd Position Licks over the V Chord (for more information on this idea visit Understanding Position Playing in the Lessons section of the site). continue reading...

This is our quote of the week at United Academy of Martial arts. I thought I would share it with you as well, it's to the point and right on the mark.

"Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success." by Napoleon Hill

In a standard 12 Bar Blues, with our most common vocal AAB rhyme scheme, fills are found on the last two bars of each four-bar line (of which there are three). These fills happen on the I (one) chord. This makes fills generally easy to play due to there being no chord considerations to be made.

In a non-12 Bar Blues progression this may not be the case, and this is true for "Key to the Highway."

Play fills to Little Walter's recording in the following manner... continue reading...

Now that you know the chord progression it's a good idea to practice your arpeggios to the progression. Listed below are the three chords, an example of where you can most easily play those notes on the harmonica, and their actual pitches. I've listed up to the flat-7th, though keep in mind that the flat-7th is not always appropriate (refer to past posts on when and why the flat-7th can sound good or bad). It's of course a good idea to try these notes across the entire ranage of the harmonica, but these will get you started.

Chord Name / TAB / Actual Pitches
I7 = 2 3 4 5 (G B D F) continue reading...

What you find in "Key to the Highway" are our standard I, IV and V Chords, but in a different order. Here's the chord progressions:

I V IV IV

I V I V

The first line of four bars has the I Chord (one chord) for one bar, then a bar of the V Chord and then two bars of the IV Chord.

The second line has the I Chord for one bar, then the V Chord for one bar and the last two bars are our standard turnaround (the same as found in the last two bars of our 12 Bar Blues Progression).

Now try playing the root notes with your C Harmonica in 2nd Position, Key of G..

2 1 1+ 1+

2 1 2 1 continue reading...

You probably already know that 12 Bar Blues is the most common form in blues. What's the second most common?... 8 Bar Blues. Listen to Little Walter's version of "Key to the Highway." Knowing that 2 Draw is the root note of the I Chord (one chord), 1+ is the root note of the IV Chord and 1 Draw is root note of the V Chord, see if you can figure out the chord progression. You'll need your C Harmonica for this (the song is in the key of G).

Hint, the first four bars is a standard V-IV-I-Turnaround, then it goes into an 8 Bar Progression.

Though the 12 Bat Blues Progression is the most common chord progression we play over, other chord progressions do exist. Some have very simple changes that can be "felt" and little to no study is needed. Some progressions introduce new chords and have unintuitive form lengths and require many hours of work in the practice room before ideas begin to flow.

Something always to keep in mind is that the chord progression for the vocals doesn't have to be the chord progression for the solos. In fact, it's a pretty common thing to do, historically speaking. continue reading...

A student came in last week asking about jaw movement after watching this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0fusOgxp_8. Here's what I told him...

"I tend not to focus on jaw movement anymore with students as a technique to study. In my experience, some techniques tend to show up in one's playing over time without having to focus on it, and this is one of them. To answer your question... when moving a hole to the right and coming back, you can use your jaw to make the quick motion away and back. The same applies for moving from one hole to the left and back. continue reading...

“Keen self-listening is central to musical excellence. Without it, performers heedlessly sing off pitch, play out of rhythm, or otherwise mangle their music. They sound good to no one but themselves. With high-quality recording devices, however, accurate self-assessment comes within the reach of all musicians.” Pg 16

“There is nothing more fatal for our musical sense than to allow ourselves—by the hour—to hear musical sounds without really listening to them.” Tobias Matthay, Pg 16