harmonica

It was obvious to me that the players that had the coolest IV licks (bars 5 and 6), V-IV-I licks (bars 9 and 10) and Turnaround licks (bars 11 and 12) had spent a lot of time studying bass lines.

A student came in for her lesson yesterday and she had the issue of multiple harmonicas having draw reeds that were stuck. I unbent one side of a coated paperclip and handed to her so she could massage the offending draw reed across its length and it quick unstuck. I observed her playing and noticed that the back of her harmonica tilted downwards, essentially allowing gravity to do its thing by allowing saliva to travel down the draw reed plate, over time building up around the reed and its slot, causing the reed to seize. continue reading...

Students were naturally nervous to play at the evening jam sessions, especially with all the great talent and the video cameras rolling. We all have aversion to putting ourselves into situations where we may embarrass ourselves publicly. The key point I like to remind students of is that a jam session is not a concert. A jam sessions is an opportunity to explore new ideas and to allow the moment of collective vulnerability (for the band as well) to create new and exciting music that could only come from that dynamic moment.

I'm at my desk in the Movenpick Hotel Stuttgart, about to leave for my flight home. Today I'll start a series based on my observations from my classes, conversations with students and what I heard at the jam sessions... specifically what I saw in regards to deficiencies.

Memorize your three blues chords...

I7 (one-seven chord) = G B D F (G is the Root of the chord, B the third [third note from the root in the basic scale... G A B], D the fifth and F the flat-7th [the 7th in the Key of G is F#, so F being lowered a half step is the flat-7th)
IV7 = C E G Bb
V7 Chord = D F# A C continue reading...

I'm heading to the Harmonica Masters Workshops (http://www.harmonica-masters.de/en/) and will be out of communication for the next 10 days as I travel and become deeply immersed in teaching harmonica players from all around Europe (some of which are you, from this site!... very cool). My favorite thing to do on long flights is to bring a notepad and pen (one that won't explode at altitude!) and make note of my short, mid and long-term musical goals. Doing this helps to steer my ship towards areas of interest, growth and a more intelligent plan on how I'm spending my valuable time. continue reading...

Thanks to fellow student Mad_Traveler for sharing this cool video...

Robbie Robertson Talks About Sonny Boy Williamson
http://youtu.be/90-O6c20PLk

It's common for players to use the tip of their tongue to block the two middles holes when performing an octave. Another option, one that I personally use, is to use the top of the tongue, just like you do for your other tongue blocking techniques (single notes, slaps, pulls, etc.) but just using an ultra-light touch so that the top convex shape of the tongue blocks the two middle holes, allowing air to flow on the left and right-hand side of the tongue. Tone is the same, but I'm able to be more relaxed an efficient in regards to moving from technique to technique. continue reading...

I mention this often, because I mention this often in my private teaching and in your submissions on the site in regards to your tone. Let's focus on your mouth cavity... your tone chamber. If your tongue PUSHES on the face of the harmonica, not only does the tongue encroach into the hole(s) you're intending to play (narrowing it's passage and creating poor/bent tone) but the body of your tongue commonly comes with it, moving forward and commonly upwards in the mouth, robbing your tone chamber of volume... low/small volume equals thin, wimpy tone... high/large volume equals big tone. continue reading...

Every now and again I'll have a poor student come in and their face is all contorted to the side when playing. I ask them to stick their tongue out with the harmonica still attached and I'll see that they're using the side of their tongue for the tongue block. They hear "block the holes to the left" and away their tongue goes, pointing far left in the mouth. The angle of the tongue on the harmonica should only be one click of the clock to the left... 11 o'clock. continue reading...

When students reach the last stage of dialing in a song for performance they work on memorization. The common tool used is to list the first lick, or just the first couple of notes of the first lick, for each chorus. The goal is to have a quick bullet-point list of each chorus, but just enough written that it helps you to recall what that chorus is. It doesn't take much, and the goal is to be very brief. Instead of using hole number TAB, you can also use a shape (we tend to remember objects better than abstract numbers). continue reading...