bandstand performing stage harp blues harmonica amp mic

Now that you have a detailed chart for each song, create a simple listing with text for all of your songs. You should be able to fit 20+ songs per sheet, so keep your notes brief.

Here are my suggested headers (feel free to add your own that you find useful):

Title Key Groove Intro Breaks? Hook/Focus General End

Key to the Highway, G, Slow Blues (Shuffle), From the V, (Blank), Shakes, 8 Bar: I V IV IV I V I V, Standard (m7) continue reading...

Now that you have your songs from the band, start the process of charting. The information can be very basic, or very detailed. I've posted a detailed example of a chart at https://www.facebook.com/bluesharmonica
If you've not competed your Music Theory studies at BluesHarmonica.com (charting is covered in Study 6), then you may need help from one of the other musicians in the band with charting the chords for non-12 Bar Blues songs. Working with a local music instructor is also a great way to go about this (I have personally done both through the years). continue reading...

When students join a band, their focus changes from learning one song at a time to learning thirty songs in a hurry to be ready to play their first gig. This is an exciting time, but also a challenging one to deal with the breadth of material.

Here's how you get started... continue reading...

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...

It's common for us harp players to sit in and play with bands we've never played with before. After you've told them the key and the groove, try having them start on the V (five). This is the last four bars of the 12 Bar Blues Progression and works great as a four-bar intro to the song. Most importantly, it gives you a little bit of time to hear the groove they're laying down BEFORE you play. What the musicians play collective creates the pitch context of the song, which determines what YOU can play as a soloist (light, bluesy... or a combination). continue reading...

It's common for us harp players to sit in and play with bands we've never played with before. After you've told them the key and the groove, try having them start on the V (five). This is the last four bars of the 12 Bar Blues Progression and works great as a four-bar intro to the song. Most importantly, it gives you a little bit of time to hear the groove they're laying down BEFORE you play. What the musicians play collective creates the pitch context of the song, which determines what YOU can play as a soloist (light, bluesy... or a combination). continue reading...

I get emails on a regular basis in regards to what keys of harmonica and what positions they were played in for this concert. Here they are...

Joe Filisko continue reading...

Yesterday was the School of the Blues Student Concert. Though students did many things right, ending signals were more wrong then they were correct. Here are some tips...

1) Looking back at the band (and scanning all of the musicians as you nod your head) around bars 9-10 works well. You can also say, "Here we go." This works very well, though most students don't feel comfortable making a quick break in their playing to do this (for harp players and vocalists that is). What's good about these two are that the band will play an ending with you, circumventing the issue of #2 below. continue reading...

We all have a harp that we either carry in our pocket or stays in our car for that opportune moment to blow a little. If you're a busy individual, that harmonica may be the harp you get the most practice on. Change out that harp with a different key each week... you don't want to become really comfortable with one key at the cost of not being able to play the others well. We're mostly speaking of bending and some of the issues of how reeds respond differently on the higher and lower harps. So, a simple fix to make sure you're good on all your keys of harmonica.

Join Mark Hummel for his latest submission on mastering the bandstand.

Videos Include:
- Submission #24 - Mastering the Bandstand: Sparse Playing
- Submission #24 - Mastering the Bandstand: Dynamics
- Submission #24 - Mastering the Bandstand: Signaling
- Submission #24 - Mastering the Bandstand: Fostering a Successful Band, Part 1
- Submission #24 - Mastering the Bandstand: Fostering a Successful Band, Part 2