scott dirks

At a Chicago Harmonica Masterclass Workshop (I believe in 2005) David Waldman shared a cool tip in regards to phrasing like Little Walter. He said, "If you want to emulate Little Walter's phrasing, start your licks on beat 2." He then played with the guitarist and improvised with this in mind, and sure enough, all of us instructors (Joe Filisko, Dennis Gruenling and Scott Dirks) nodded our heads in agreement... it sounded like what Walter would do. I experimented with this concept after the workshop and it's now a tool I use in my improvising from time to time. continue reading...