harmonica

In these two videos we record the slow blues instrumental heavily influenced by George "Harmonica" Smith titled "Dark Night." Pianist Steve Lucky joins the recording crew for this and two more songs.

Hohner released this video today with Joe Filisko speaking on camera about the history of his harmonica customizing work. Check it out, it's very insightful.

Customizing Joe Filisko
https://youtu.be/SHBXPaWyrTg

I'm proud to announce that the CD "It Takes Three" with Gary Smith, Aki Kumar and myself is now available at http://bit.ly/ittakesthree (physical or download). The transcription set is available at http://www.bluesharmonica.com/it_takes_three_transcriptions (harp TAB and standard music notation provided).

Here are some YouTube videos of the project. Thank you for your support!

It Takes Three by David Barrett, Gary Smith and Aki Kumar
https://youtu.be/dHhzq2AN99s

Bombay Stroll by Aki Kumar
https://youtu.be/iAPr6qUTufg

Blow! Blow! Blow! by David Barrett continue reading...

Center your tongue and move it ever-so-slightly back (away from the harmonica) so that you're only covering two holes with your tongue. Again, focus on the convex shape of your tongue, there’s no need to use the tip of your tongue if you use a light touch. continue reading...

It's not guaranteed that a fast lick will have a movement pattern, breath pattern or both, but it's worth looking for... the discover of them can help make a fast lick much easier to play.

Your Tongue Block Study 3 song ("Gary's Blues") contains a great example in Bar 6 of Chorus 5. Note that each beat has you moving up one hole and coming back, all with the same breath. For the next beat you move down the scale and blow, then using the same movement. Rinse and repeat and you have the entire lick. This discovery will help you to play this lick much more easily. continue reading...

We're now on to the second day of recording. I move into the smaller isolation room and we start the day with all of my solo tunes. These two videos I record "Here We Go." This Tramp groove, based on Lowell Fulson’s song “Tramp,” has long been a favorite groove of mine. With a rhythm driven by 8th and 16th notes, it allows for fast playing and some very cool runs that traverse the entire range of the harmonica. continue reading...

Fast licks can be challenging to learn due to the number of notes packed into a small amount of time. Difficulty is heightened with awkward breathing patterns or the addition of challenging techniques such as bending or note treatments (dip, cut, gliss, slap, flutter or octave for example). Students will struggle to fit all of the notes of a passage in time, and in their struggle they'll often unknowingly play a lick too fast in order to get to what's next in the music. continue reading...

Be aware that when a passage contains a repetitive lick, e.i., a string of notes that are rhythmically the same (such as a triplet passage for more than two beats), most players will have the tendency to rush. Knowing that this is common, when you approach such a passage make sure to feel the pulse of the music and hold yourself back from rushing.

The second part of Joe Filisko's informative radio show is now up...

Rare Early Blues Harp Recordings by Singers and Sidemen introduced by Joe Filisko - Part 2
https://www.mixcloud.com/PodKast/rare-early-harmonica-recordings-by-voca...

Transcription set for It Takes Three is now available at http://www.bluesharmonica.com/it_takes_three_transcriptions ($20) for those interested in learning the songs on the album. Harmonica TAB and standard music notation provided and includes all solos, harmonica harmonies and charts for songs with harmonica horn lines. Link to download PDF transcriptions are sent within 24 hours. The CD will release on 5/2, but here are four songs available now for your viewing pleasure...

It Takes Three by David Barrett, Gary Smith and Aki Kumar
https://youtu.be/dHhzq2AN99s continue reading...