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David's Tip of the Day: Science of Bending

Posted Thu, 12/11/2014 - 07:47 by David Barrett Admin

If you would like to see actual images of the tongue in the bending process (draw and blow bending, with both tongue block and pucker embouchures), read my paper on the bending process with visualizations from the MRI Bending Study I did at Stanford University with Peter R. Egbert, Lewis K. Shin, Thomas D. Rossing and Andrew Holbrook. Bending Process on the 10-Hole Diatonic Harmonica with the Visual Aid of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) by David Barrett https://www.bluesharmonica.com/sites/bluesharmonica.com/files/mri_bendin...

David's Tip of the Day: Chicago Blues Documentary (1972)

Posted Wed, 12/10/2014 - 08:12 by David Barrett Admin

Some nice Junior Wells playing at the 27 minute mark...

Chicago Blues Documentary (1972)
http://youtu.be/EzAySaWy9sc?list=PLqCjLhOxHNnLzDFIHOc0F4E5oT-R-HR1c

David's Tip of the Day: BLUES MASTERS: The Essential History of the Blues

Posted Tue, 12/09/2014 - 09:02 by David Barrett Admin

Some early footage in this "BLUES MASTERS: The Essential History of the Blues" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q0D8iMYL9Q&index=140&list=PLqCjLhOxHNnL...

What's New: Recording Study 3 - Home Studio

Posted Mon, 12/08/2014 - 16:25 by David Barrett Admin

In this lesson I'll show you how to record acoustic harmonica, mic a harp amp, do punch-in recording and edit multiple takes into one cohesive track. Many of the techniques I'll share with you are common to professional recording studios, just on a smaller scale. As a bonus, you get to follow fellow student Bill Bussell as he records his current study song ("The Tub"). This study is for all skill level players and no harmonicas are needed. continue reading...

David's Tip of the Day: Tremolo and Flutter Speed

Posted Mon, 12/08/2014 - 09:51 by David Barrett Admin

A reminder to all students that tremolos and flutters should not be locked to a specific rhythm. It's common to receive submissions where the student is playing all of these at the triplet rhythm (three pieces of the tremolo or flutter per beat). This is mechanical sounding... they should float. A general rule of the thumb is to have them be slightly faster than the triplet. This floating quality is what makes your music sound smooth, and when coupled with dynamics, emotional.

David's Tip of the Day: Robert Hughes Quote about Confidence (via Kid Anderson)

Posted Fri, 12/05/2014 - 08:02 by David Barrett Admin

Gary Smith, Aki Kumar and I were in the studio this last weekend and I was commiserating with Kid in regards to being anxious about being able to "bring it" for the recording. He quoted this phrase and thought I would share it with you...

"The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize." Robert Hughes

David's Tip of the Day: Paul Oscher Quote

Posted Thu, 12/04/2014 - 07:43 by David Barrett Admin

Margie Goldsmith for Harmonica Happenings (SPAH, Fall 2014, Vol. 48 No. 4): "What advice do you have for advanced players? What's the most important thing to for them to learn?"

Paul Oscher: "Don't try to play better than your peers just try to play better that yourself"

David's Tip of the Day: Free 7 Harp Case (with purchase of only one harmonica)

Posted Wed, 12/03/2014 - 07:43 by David Barrett Admin

Tip of the Day: "Happy Holidays from Hohner! We have a free offer for you running till the end of the month. Simply purchase any of our most popular harmonicas (Marine Band, Special 20, Crossover, Thunderbird, Golden Melody, Rocket, Blues Harp, Big River or Blue Midnight) and receive a free 7 piece harp case! $40 retail value! Just bought one of these harps in November? No problem! you can still get the Free gift. Print out this coupon and send it in with a copy of your receipt and we will get it going! continue reading...

David's Tip of the Day: Using a Jam Track Combined with Original Track to Dial in your Rhythm

Posted Tue, 12/02/2014 - 07:29 by David Barrett Admin

In this video snippet (Recording Study 2) I show you how to record to a study song jam track and reference it with the original track to check your rhythm: https://www.facebook.com/bluesharmonica

David's Tip of the Day: V-IV-I area in Accompaniment

Posted Mon, 12/01/2014 - 08:28 by David Barrett Admin

A student asked about the V-IV-I area (Bars 9-11) part of the 12 Bar Blues in regards to accompaniment. It's commonly an active area and he was wondering how to approach this area without grabbing too much attention (interfering with the vocals). Here are some general guidelines for everyone. Remember... no rule book exists, but here is what I have personally observed in my studies...

1) Playing Chord Tones is best

2) Repetition is better than activity continue reading...

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