“The Process” my journey through the Levels of Achievement Program by Luciano “Lucky Slim” Guida

This was written by Luciano as part of his Level 10 test (of which I’m reviewing today). Give it a read, he worked hard to get this far.

“It was Christmas time two years ago. I remember myself wondering about where to go for harmonica lessons. I had five or six lessons with a teacher several years before, but now my harmonicas just lay in a drawer. It was hard, I didn't learn much, and I forgot about the harmonica for a while.

During those days I was observing the incredible amount of lessons and tutorials on YouTube and the Internet in general, but what was missing was the big picture, an overall map of the learning process.

Like many, I wasted time trying to learn difficult stuff without knowing how to proceed. When you want to be self-taught, you actually have to do two jobs: learn and teach, but how can you teach yourself something you still have to learn?

At that point nothing presented on the internet seemed useful until I landed on the BluesHarmonica.com website. David Barrett’s main page and picture immediately inspired in me confidence. "This is a professional website and that man looks as a professional teacher." That was what I thought. Then I read about the Levels of Achievement Program and I was like, "Yes!... this is the place!"

I registered and started my adventure with David and tongue blocking. In the beginning it was frustrating. It took me fifteen days just to be able to play single notes... a completely new world to me because in the past I had only learned the puckering style.

Day by day I studied in a methodical way, something I have never done before. I'm pretty sure that after these two years I’ve forgotten something about how challenging it was, because without great effort you don't get anywhere. I practiced in the car in the morning before getting into my office. I practiced at lunchtime, at night, while driving, and when I couldn't physically play the instrument I practiced in my mind, especially improvisation. I sometimes played with cut lips, eventually keeping me off of the harmonica, but never more than one day.

Let me say that the LOA program is a wonderful tool, because you don't have to imagine what to study, but just follow the program and stay consistent in your practice. There are no secrets, it’s stated on the website that the process takes an average of four years, and it's true. I did it in two years just because I already had a musical background (played piano for years) and I practiced two hours a day with peaks during weekends and holidays of four hours per day.

There’s another aspect of learning that concerns how you practice. The best way for me was to study in blocks of 20 minutes, which kept me focused on specific material. It’s difficult to find two hours in a day for a busy person, but it can be easy to steal twenty minutes several times in a day.

The program flowed quite easily for me until Level 5, where you start to compose your original blues instrumental. The program gets harder as you proceed through the levels, but the lessons are well done and sometimes, when you think that something is missing, it’s just because you missed that when you watched the lesson the first time. Everything you need is in there, just go back and watch again.

When I was on Level 7 I attended the Harmonica Masters Workshops in Trossingen, Germany and became very inspired. When I arrived back home I started to add other material to integrate the lessons: some play-along tracks, improvisation time, lick practicing for speed, etc. That was the point where I started to "play music" instead of simply "studying music." In the overall process I recorded more than fifty songs in different styles… I tried to vary them and get the best from everything.

When I was on Level 9 I decided it was time for me to go on stage and play with others. I went on the road with guitar players, cajun players, bass players, singers... anyone I could play with to gain experience. Then it was pure satisfaction when I had the opportunity to jam in Chicago’s most famous blues venues, as well as in Melbourne, Australia. I went to another music workshop in France and discovered what I had learned in these two years was time well spent.

Now, I say to other students: stay focused, persist in studying, keep a schedule and follow it. Don't care too much about how long it will take, the results will come. Keep in mind that certain skills just come after time, like good blow bending or fast playing. For example, it took me six months to be able to play a train imitation rhythm at 190 bpm. In the beginning, going at 80 bpm was difficult and it seemed impossible for me to increase the speed, but with persistence and time I was able to achieve this goal.

David's lessons are well organized, if you practice with a good attitude you will became a good player for sure. I know that we never stop learning, but I'm pretty sure I’m at a good starting point!”