Tip of the Day

Many of us poo-poo the practice of the major scale our instrument was constructed to play so well. Did you know that the C Major Scale on your C Major Harmonica contains the notes needed to play in seven positions?

Here are the full three octaves. Give it a play and let's discus it for a while.

1+ 1 2+ 2" 2 3" 3 4+
4+ 4 5+ 5 6+ 6 7 7+
7+ 8 8+ 9 9+ 10 10'+ 10+

Hold your harmonica with both hands, using your standard cup. Now look at your harmonica and note how much of it is in your hands. The more of the harmonica in your hands, the less you can place in your mouth. The more harmonica you can place in your mouth, the larger your embouchure is (the harmonica acts like a wedge... opening your mouth the deeper it's wedged in). The larger your embouchure, the bigger your tone.

Jon Harl (student, friend and fine harmonica customizer) and I were discussing the challenges of technique on the harmonica yesterday... specifically bending. The discouragement level can be high for new students and we both agreed that it takes experimentation and perseverance. Due to the fact that students can't see what an experienced bender is doing, nor what they're doing to in response to my directions, it literally takes thousands and thousands of experiments and reps to develop the skill. continue reading...

"Who knows the secret I don't know, and who is it?" states Barry Schwartz on the TED Radio Hour Podcast 5/4/12 (NPR). When it comes to equipment, buy what most of the people you respect recommend (gear that has stood the test of time) and get to work.

Here's what I recommend...

Harmonica: Hohner Crossover

Microphone: JT30 body, a Shure CM or CR element, screw-on output connector, cable and backup screw-on to 1/4" female adapter

Small Amp: Fender Super Champ X2 continue reading...

Another great tool to train yourself to play softer is that when playing to a jam track or a study song recording, simply set the volume at a low level; this forces you to play softer in order to track along with the recording. I also like to have students plug in and play amplified, but set the volume of the jam track (or me on the bass) at an acoustic volume, again, forcing them to play softly. Too often playing amplified is only serving the purpose of being louder, but it's so much more than just that... the change in tone being of most importance. continue reading...

Just going through this new book a second time... good stuff in here. The audio book is well narrated as well.

Book
http://www.amazon.com/Mastery-Robert-Greene/dp/0670024961/ref=la_B001IGV...

Audio Book
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/mastery/id520234946?mt=11

Playing loudly is the #1 killer of harmonicas. The #1 reason why harmonica players don't employ enough dynamics in their playing is the tendency to play loudly all the time. The #1 tell that someone has not mastered their bending skills is in their tendency to play their bent notes louder than their non-bent notes. The fix?... practice playing every new phrase you learn as softly as possible. Keep the volume of backing tracks low so that you're forced to play softly to hear the track well.

Students are tempted to bring their sheet music or lyric sheets on the stage as a crutch at student concerts. In most cases it's just nerves asking for that safety blanket. The end result is always awkward. Whether it's on a music stand or on the stage floor, your attention is drawn towards the sheet, even if you don't really need it. continue reading...

When's the last time you've seen a blues harmonica player read sheet music on the bandstand? I've never seen it. Though it's very helpful to use notated music/TAB to learn new material, use it only long enough to help you figure out what to play, and which technique(s) to use to present it, and then don't look anymore. To memorize as you go is to internalize your material and be able to focus on its rhythm and presentation. Also remember to take out your favorite lick from that day's practice and spend the last 1/3 of your practice time and apply it to the Chorus Forms.

Our rule of thumb for chording/chugging on the harmonica is to use holes 1 and 2. Adding hole 3 for a larger sound is just fine as well... all depending on if your surrounding licks use hole 3 (it's a good idea to stay away from hole 3 if your single-note licks that surround the chording use hole 3... so that pitch doesn't get over-used). Stay away from chording on hole 4, this is where the harmonica was build to play melody.