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David's Tip of the Day: I'm lost... what do I do now? Part 9 (Help! = Guitar Solo)

Posted Tue, 09/17/2013 - 07:48 by David Barrett Admin
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Okay, you're now on the bandstand. I want to point this out first... it may help you to feel less nervous. If you get hopelessly lost, look to another soloist... commonly the guitarist or pianist... and nod your head for them to solo. It won't be in the right spot, but look over, nod your head, close your eyes and smile as you listen for the anticipated solo, thus forcing a solo onto them. continue reading...

David's Tip of the Day: I'm lost... what do I do now? Part 8 (Improvising)

Posted Mon, 09/16/2013 - 06:59 by David Barrett Admin
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Put the jam track on that you've been practicing your instrumental with and improvise. Work your Hole Changes (Accompaniment Study 3), Chorus Forms (Improvising Study 1), Soloing Themes (Improvising Study 7) and general jamming with a goal of becoming very familiar with the groove of the song you're playing. This way, if you unintentionally deviate from your prearranged instrumental, you won't freak out. continue reading...

David's Tip of the Day: Swing Bass Line in 2nd & 3rd Position

Posted Fri, 09/13/2013 - 15:22 by David Barrett Admin
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I'm in the process of editing the interview I conducted with Annie Raines and she played a cool ii-V-I line in 3rd Position. I thought I would share it with you...

First, here's a cool 2nd Position bass line with the standard ii-V-I progression in Bars 9 and 10 (it replaces the V-IV-I you're used to) and the I-vi-ii-V in Bars 11 and 12 (which replaces the standard I-V turnaround)... both changes being very commonplace in Jump & Swing Blues.

Play each note as a quarter note...

2 3 4 5+ 6+ 5+ 4 3, 2 3 4 5+ 6+ 5 5+ 4

4+ 2+ 2 3" 3' 3" 2 2+, 2 3 4 5+ 6+ 5+ 4 3 continue reading...

David's Tip of the Day: I'm lost... what do I do now? Part 7 (Recommended Jam Tracks)

Posted Thu, 09/12/2013 - 06:55 by David Barrett Admin
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I'm a big fan of having a good selection of jam tracks to practice with. Here's a list of jam tracks I use often.

Blues Harp Tracks provides jam tracks that are generic, as well as jam tracks that have been recorded to work with specific blues harmonica songs.
bluesharptracks.com

For generic grooves, these are my favorite...

Ultimate Blues Jam (3 CDs) by Pete Schmidt
http://www.ultijamtracks.com

Groovetrax - Every Groove A Bluesman Needs To Know by Jimi Lee
http://jimileeband.com/jam_tracks/groovetrax_sample_clips/ continue reading...

David's Tip of the Day: I'm lost... what do I do now? Part 6 (Non-Original Jam Track)

Posted Wed, 09/11/2013 - 07:01 by David Barrett Admin
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The next step in your practice routine is to bullet-proof yourself for the bandstand. When you play your tune with a band, their backing will not sound the same as what you've been practicing to. To help prepare yourself for this, use a program like the Amazing Slow Downer and slow your song down 10% to get a feel for what would happen if you count your song in too slow. Inversely, set the tempo 10% too fast, which is a more likely error than counting to slowly... we all get excited and tend to count songs in too fast. continue reading...

David's Tip of the Day: I'm lost... what do I do now? Part 5 (Memorization)

Posted Tue, 09/10/2013 - 07:22 by David Barrett Admin
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You've most likely played your song hundreds of times by this point, so you probably don't need the sheet music anymore (if sheet music exists). What you're most likely having issues with is remembering what the first lick is for each chorus. If you can remember the first lick, usually you're good to go for the entire chorus. Maybe you've accidentally mixed up the first lick a couple of times and subsequently missed a chorus or two in the confusion.

Here's how to deal with this... continue reading...

David's Tip of the Day: Joe Filisko: Lessons From an American Harper

Posted Sun, 09/08/2013 - 23:20 by David Barrett Admin
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Joe Filisko: Lessons From an American Harper
http://popstache.com/?p=30872

David's Tip of the Day: Use Bad Harps for Practice

Posted Fri, 09/06/2013 - 06:44 by David Barrett Admin
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If you have a harmonica with a bad reed, you can still use the rest of the harmonica for practice. Here's how Dan, a fellow BluesHarmonica.com member, does it... "I'm working on 1st Position right now. I have a harp with a bad 5 draw reed, but the 5 draw is rarely used in 1st Position. I work on my runs and all their associated bends on the lower four holes and the same for the top four holes. By using the bad harps like this, I've not affected my practice and have added another six months life to each of my good harps." Thanks for sharing this Dan!

I'm lost... what do I do now? Part 4 (Playing and Recording to a Jam Track)

Posted Thu, 09/05/2013 - 07:53 by David Barrett Admin
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Now that you can play your song at full tempo, make a playlist and play to the original (the one with harmonica on it) and if a jam track exists (like your study songs at BluesHarmonica.com), play with it after. The first play through helps to give you an imprint of the original song before you try to do it on your own. The jam track gives you the opportunity to practice without the auditory cues of the original harmonica part. continue reading...

David's Tip of the Day: I'm lost... what do I do now? Part 3 (Learning a Song)

Posted Wed, 09/04/2013 - 10:57 by David Barrett Admin
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Once your song is selected, it's time to get to work and learn it. Use the standard method I outline in Blues Harmonica Fundamentals on the site....

1) Loop the lick (with a software program like the Amazing Slow Downer) and slow it down to a manageable speed

2) Listen once... sing/hum once... listen... sing/hum... rinse and repeat

3) Stop the playback and work with the transcription (music notation with TAB) to work out the breathing, movement and techniques associated with the lick until you can play it close to what's in your aural memory. continue reading...