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David's Tip of the Day: I'm lost... what do I do now? Part 2 (Choosing a Song: New Player)

Posted Tue, 09/03/2013 - 06:47 by David Barrett Admin
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If this is your first performance, I recommend that you choose a song that's not difficult for you to play. This way your mind is not focused on "can I play this difficult passage," but on the performance itself and all the x-factors involved. X-factors are the elements you cannot control... your environment, the musicians, how well you can hear yourself, how the amp sounds and all the other stimulus that's involved in performance.

Here are some more elements to consider in selecting a song. It's good if you choose a song with... continue reading...

David's Tip of the Day: I'm lost... what do I do now? Part 1 (Why We Memorize)

Posted Mon, 09/02/2013 - 08:27 by David Barrett Admin
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Students commonly worry about the memorization of a song in preparation for a student concert... missing a lick, a chorus or getting off in rhythm is a scary thing in performance to a new player.

First... why does a new player memorize a song? Simply stated, this offers the new player the highest probability of sounding good. Work on a song until it's mastered and the end result is darn good if you can reproduce it well on the bandstand (or home recording). continue reading...

Charlie McCoy Sneak Peek

Posted Fri, 08/30/2013 - 13:32 by David Barrett Admin
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Here’s a sneak peek of the interview I did with country harmonica legend Charlie McCoy releasing this weekend on the site. In this portion Charlie talks about his approach to accompaniment playing.
http://youtu.be/UPaZenhUhGE

David's Tip of the Day: Judging Music with Visual Cues

Posted Thu, 08/29/2013 - 06:47 by David Barrett Admin
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Many years ago, Rod Piazza was speaking on the art of performance at a Harmonica Masterclass Workshop and stated, "People listen with their eyes," in respect to the importance of the visual element of your show. In last Friday's "Science Friday" podcast in "Judging Music with Visual Cues" I heard that science has confirmed Rod's assertion. Check this out if you get a chance, it's very interesting.

Science Friday: Judging Music with Visual Cues (8/23/2013)
http://www.sciencefriday.com/segment/08/23/2013/judging-music-with-visua...

David's Tip of the Day: Good Tone - Part 6 (Summation)

Posted Wed, 08/28/2013 - 06:49 by David Barrett Admin
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Let's now sum up everything we've discussed...

1) The larger the mouth cavity, the bigger the tone (large cavity = lower frequencies can be produced)

2) The most common cause of poor tone is to have your tongue raised (tongue raised = smaller cavity = lower frequencies cannot be produced) continue reading...

David's Tip of the Day: Wa Wa without Dips

Posted Tue, 08/27/2013 - 07:33 by David Barrett Admin
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The second most common error for new students when learning how to use the Wa Wa is to use dips with each Wa of the hand. The dip is a technique where you start by playing a note bent and then quickly raising it. For some reason, it's almost universal for students to want to do a dip with each Wa... as if there were a string attached from their hands to their tongue. Though this is a valid option to couple these two techniques, the tonal change of the Wa is much more pronounced without the additional pitch change of the dip.

David's Tip of the Day: Wa Wa Wa = One Breath

Posted Mon, 08/26/2013 - 06:54 by David Barrett Admin
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It's common for students to hear a Wa Wa being played on one note and mistakenly think that a separate breath is used for each Wa. Though it can be done this way, the Wa effect is much more pronounced if you use one, even breath (no volume changes) and ONLY the hands to separate the notes (the hands are what create the Wa affect). Go to Solo Harmonica Study 4 and look at page two of the PDF transcription... first bar of the 4th Chorus. All seven of those 2 draws are played with one breath, using a Wa to give the sense that they are all separate. continue reading...

David's Tip of the Day: Good Tone - Part 5 (Contious Mouth Cavity Tuning)

Posted Thu, 08/22/2013 - 08:22 by David Barrett Admin
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For those of you that haven't had the years of experience bending, to have the mouth cavity naturally tuned to each reed you play, let's give you an idea of what this feels like.

Grab any harmonica and bend the reed that's the most comfortable for you. Do this a couple times, focusing on the location of your tongue and jaw. Start bent and slowly allow your bend to slide up in pitch until you reach the exact point where the note is sounding at its originally-intended pitch. You are now tuned to that reed.

Take the harmonica away and move your mouth around to reset your embouchure. continue reading...

David's Tip of the Day: Good Tone - Part 4 (Subcontious Mouth Cavity Tuning)

Posted Wed, 08/21/2013 - 09:44 by David Barrett Admin
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From yesterday... "Grab an A Harmonica... play a 1 draw... then a 4 draw... and then a 6 draw. What do you observe your tongue and jaw, i.e., the mouth cavity, doing?"

If you have years of experience bending on the harmonica, you'll find that your jaw slightly drops and the back of your tongue moves slightly back for the 1 draw. Even though you're not bending, your mouth cavity (which includes the position of the tongue) is poised to do the bend if you desire to. continue reading...

David's Tip of the Day: Good Tone - Part 3

Posted Tue, 08/20/2013 - 06:44 by David Barrett Admin
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"E" is a great location in the mouth to show someone how to bend on the harmonica (this is similar to a 4 draw bend on a mid-range harmonica). Bending is created by producing a constricted air passage and tuning the point in front of the constriction (towards the harmonica) to the pitch of the bend you're trying to create. If your mouth is tuned to the reed you're playing, then your tone will be fine for every-day single-note playing. If your mouth is tuned higher in pitch than the reed, then your tone will suffer and may cause unwanted affects (bending, airiness and/or stalling). continue reading...