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Join me for a study of one of our four great post war Chicago Blues fathers, George "Harmonica" Smith. It's generally accepted that George was the greatest Blues chromatic harmonica player of his time, and that's what our focus is for this lesson. The majority of the licks used in the study song "Swingin' with George" comes from George Smith, providing you with great vocabulary for you to study and draw upon for your own improvising. You may record yourself playing to the provided jam track and submit it to me for review if you wish. This study is for advanced skill level players. continue reading...

Note that blows are still blows and draws are still draws (5+ = E, 8+ = E / 5 = F, 9 = F)... this is a great piece of knowledge to have... it makes the high-end a bit more approachable.

Do note that your movement is different though...

In the original line of "When the Saints Go Marching In" you played 4+ 5+ 5 6+ and in the upper octave you played 7+ 8+ 9 9+... for the F (referencing a C Harmonica here) you stayed on the same hole (5+ E) and drew (5 F) to get the next note... for the high end you played the 8+ (E) and had to move up for the 9 (F) to get the next note. continue reading...

Transpose "When the Saints Go Marching In" up an octave.

4+ 5+ 5 6+, 4+ 5+ 5 6+, 4+ 5+ 5 6+ 5+ 4+ 5+ 4, 5+ 5+ 4 4+, 4+ 5+ 6+ 6+ 5, 5 5+ 5 6+ 5+ 4+ 4 4+

Mid Octave: 4+ 4 5+ 5 6+ 6 7 7+

High Octave: 7+ 8 8+ 9 9+ 10 10' 10+

Salgado’s been perfecting his craft since he first began playing professionally in the late 1960s. He fronted his own group (The Nighthawks), inspired John Belushi to create The Blues Brothers, was co-star of The Robert Cray Band and sang and toured with Roomful Of Blues. He released his first of eight solo albums in 1991, hitting the road hard year after year. Salgado and his band toured with The Steve Miller Band and Curtis spent a summer singing with Santana before being sidelined by serious health issues in 2006. continue reading...