harmonica

In Section 2 of Recording Study 4 (Professional Studio) we sit down with students Joel Saal and George Bisharat and listen to their recording process. Videos Include: Joel Saal: Growth and Legacy Project; George Bisharat: Getting to know George; Why Do a CD?; Preparation, Music Mentors and Musician Selection; Recording, Mixing and Mastering; Photography, Artwork and Promotion; Tips for Students, Copyright and Distribution. George has provided you a song from his new CD on the lesson page. continue reading...

We need to take a quick break from the transcription series today for a fellow student in need of help with octaves. continue reading...

The first step in the process is to figure out the key of harmonica used. Here are a few common methods. We'll assume that what's being played is in the common 2nd Position for now.

1) Pick up each harmonica in your collection and play the 2 draw until you find the harmonica that matches the best. In 2nd Position the 2 draw is your home base... the key of the song (If the song is in the key of G, the 2 draw on your C Harmonica is G). continue reading...

This is my process...

1) Transcribe everything at full tempo, without picking up the harmonica.

2) Slow the music down moderately (around 15-20%) and proofread my transcription carefully as I listen. This is very handy, I'll inevitably find little fixes (such as dips, slurs, pulls that were very soft, etc.).

3) If it's a very fast song, I'll do this again at around 40% slow. continue reading...

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

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...

Andy Santana is a long-respected tradition blues harmonica player, guitarist and vocalist from the California Bay Area. In this interview he brings the perspective of a longtime performer, songwriter, recording artist, bandleader and producer. 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...