hohner blues harmonica

I'll be there... hope to see you there too. For more information visit: http://spah.org/content.asp?pl=20&contentid=20

I'm often asked what to use to clean the outside of a harmonica. I use Roche-Thomas' Mi-T-Mist. Spray... let sit for a moment... wipe the grunge off. Be careful not to spray inside your harp on a chromatic (you don't want this spray to get on your wind savers). Here's a link: http://www.rochethomas.com/p-159-mi-t-mist-8oz.aspx

What's the right gap for you?

1 - Low enough that it responds at very low volume.

2 - Not so low that reeds stall when articulation or played with relatively high pressure (when it's time to kick butt!).

3 - Set evenly across the range of the harmonica (keep mind that it's higher for low reeds and lower for high reeds)... nothing's worse than playing a beautifully-soft passage and a reed in that passage doesn't respond similarly to the other reeds... this is a case of the instrument getting in the way of the music. continue reading...

You'll be learning numerous songs in your studies, of which you'll forget if you don't review. As you complete each song, place its original (with harp) and jam track (without harp... if it's a study song and a jam track exists) in a playlist. Once a week, or at the very least once a month, start your playlist and play along as if you're on the stage, performing these songs in a gig. As time goes on you'll dial each song in well enough to play with the jam track version only, truly like a gig. continue reading...

The fully-closed cup, when playing acoustic, should only be used the moment before a "Wa" affect (closed, then open = Wa). Your cup should then remain open so that we can hear you play. The more open your cup, the less coloration from your hands. The more you close your cup (still leaving a little bit of room for sound to escape), the more hand muting you achieve, thus the more your hands color the sound. Experiment with this to hear the differences in color. How open or closed should you be?... this is personal preference. continue reading...

In Mark Hummel's latest submission he talks about Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller)