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David's Tip of the Day: Different Types of Tremolo and Vibrato - Part 15, Ya Ya Ya Vibrato

Posted Mon, 06/09/2014 - 10:21 by David Barrett Admin

With all vibratos your mouth needs to be tuned to the reed you're playing, and with this type of vibrato you move your tongue in a Ya Ya Ya-like motion to change the pitch (jaw is stationary, only the tongue moves). This is similar to the idea of the Chewing Vibrato in the way that the throat is not used at all. continue reading...

What's New: Mark Ford Interview

Posted Sat, 06/07/2014 - 05:25 by David Barrett Admin

Mark Ford had a strong impact on the Bay Area blues harmonica scene in the early 1970’s, starting with the release of the Charles Ford Blues Band on Arhoolie in 1972, which is now considered a modern blues classic (Robin Ford on guitar, Patrick Ford on drums and Stan Poplin on the bass). His powerful amplified tone and mastery of the entire range of the harmonica (he’s known for his killer licks above Hole 6 in 2nd Position) has caused him to influence many generations of blues harmonica players around the world. continue reading...

What's New: Mark Ford Interview Sneak Peek

Posted Fri, 06/06/2014 - 06:01 by David Barrett Admin

Here's a sneak peek at the Mark Ford interview to release tomorrow.
http://youtu.be/T-4krltBjQE

David's Tip of the Day: Warming up a Chromatic Harmonica

Posted Thu, 06/05/2014 - 06:20 by David Barrett Admin

Practicing on a cold chromatic causes the warm condensation from your breath to collect on the reeds and wind-savors, causing the annoying buzz we hate so much. The answer is to warm it up. Some players stick it in their shirt pocket near their body, put it under their arm or even on a little heated pillow throne (very regal). If you use a laptop, just rest it on your laptop for a bit... this works great.

David's Tip of the Day: Different Types of Tremolo and Vibrato - Part 14, Vibrato & Tremolo Mixture (Dynamics)

Posted Wed, 06/04/2014 - 06:20 by David Barrett Admin

The vibrato needs a bit of airflow to activate all of its moving parts, so it doesn't work at very low volumes. For this reason, practicing going from a low-volume tremolo into a vibrato is time well spent. The practice is straight forward, start playing a note as softly as possible, using a tremolo of course, and as the volume increases enough to use the vibrato, switch to a vibrato as smoothly as you can (not allowing the vibrato to kick start and start swing hard and fast... the goal is a smooth transition). continue reading...

David's Tip of the Day: Different Types of Tremolo and Vibrato - Part 9, Vibrato (HarpNinja)

Posted Tue, 06/03/2014 - 07:52 by David Barrett Admin

The throat vibrato is generally easier to produce at a faster speed. Though powerful... think Paul Butterfield... that intensity is not always appropriate. Gary Smith has a silky-smooth slow vibrato and I remember him saying to me at age 16 that slowing it down was really a challenge... and it was. It took me about a year to produce a good vibrato and another couple of years to slow it down.

The mouth and tongue (in their relaxed state) are influenced by the throat tremolo to produce the vibrato. What I feel when I slow my vibrato down is that I simply slow down my tremolo. continue reading...

David's Tip of the Day: Different Types of Tremolo and Vibrato - Part 12, Vibrato (Matching)

Posted Mon, 06/02/2014 - 08:00 by David Barrett Admin

Now that you're working on the different vibrato types, it's time to match them all up. Play your throat vibrato on 1, 2 and 3 draw and then chewing vibrato on 3". Work on matching the depth (how low the note bends) and duration (the time between bends) of the chewing vibrato so that it matches that of the 1, 2 and 3. Do the same for your chewing vibrato on 7+, 8+, 9+ and 10+ to match the vibrato on your 4, 5 and 6 draw. You don't have to play them the same all the time (musical context will dictate this), but it's good technique to have an even approach across the range of the harmonica.

What's New: Freeman Stowers Train Imitation Lesson with Joe Filisko

Posted Sat, 05/31/2014 - 05:25 by David Barrett Admin

Freeman Stowers Train Imitation Lesson with Joe Filisko is now up under the "Train Imitation Study 2 - Artist Studies"

David's Tip of the Day: Different Types of Tremolo and Vibrato - Part 11, Vibrato (Blow Chewing Vibrato)

Posted Fri, 05/30/2014 - 06:17 by David Barrett Admin

The same Chewing Vibrato you experimented with yesterday can be used on blow bends. To prime your embouchure, play a 8+ and then 8'+ a couple of times to feel where the sweet spot is for the pitch of the 8+. Now play the 8+ and move your jaw up and down and the vibrato will be there. The same applies for the 9+ and 10+. The first time I heard of this as a technique was in an audio cassette instruction by Gary Primich. Have a great weekend everyone!

David's Tip of the Day: Different Types of Tremolo and Vibrato - Part 4, Vibrato

Posted Thu, 05/29/2014 - 09:25 by David Barrett Admin

The 3' sounds great with a vibrato, but for most players the 3" swings too much in pitch and is not a very pleasing sound. When performing the 3" try moving your jaw up and down to produce the vibrato. The more you move your jaw the larger the change in pitch. The speed of the jaw movements depends on how fast you want the vibrato. This is commonly known as the "Chewing Vibrato."

If you would like to see and hear me demonstrate this technique visit the lesson "Tremolo & Vibrato" at http://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/tremolo_and_vibrato

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