Posted Tue, 11/04/2014 - 03:34 by David Barrett Admin
Students were naturally nervous to play at the evening jam sessions, especially with all the great talent and the video cameras rolling. We all have aversion to putting ourselves into situations where we may embarrass ourselves publicly. The key point I like to remind students of is that a jam session is not a concert. A jam sessions is an opportunity to explore new ideas and to allow the moment of collective vulnerability (for the band as well) to create new and exciting music that could only come from that dynamic moment.
Posted Tue, 09/09/2014 - 07:16 by David Barrett Admin
A new house band rotation is starting at School of the Blues in a couple of weeks and in their prep email they're asked to watch this video. This work provides a great perspective for new players getting ready to play with others. Below is an annotated transcript for your reference.
Posted Tue, 08/12/2014 - 07:52 by David Barrett Admin
In jam situations sometimes songs are called quickly and the person counting in looks to you to solo in the intro. You may not know where in the form the song is starting, nor the feel of the song (even if they call a "Shuffle," there are many types of shuffles). You could just start blowin' riffs, but an even better approach is to play a long-held note (with vibrato would be a good idea) for about two bars... and then continue playing. continue reading...
Posted Mon, 06/23/2014 - 07:53 by David Barrett Admin
Join bandleader Frank De Rose as he discusses the important areas of focus in creating a successful blues band. His videos can be found in Section 4 of the "Performance Training Study 5 - Joining or Starting a Blues Band" lesson at BluesHarmonica.com.
Posted Thu, 06/19/2014 - 07:53 by David Barrett Admin
In this Performance Training study I'll help prepare you for the process of joining an existing blues band or starting your own. No harmonicas are needed for this lesson, but download the PDF to reference as we go through the points in this lesson. This lesson is for all skill level players, but is generally focused towards upper-intermediate and advanced players. continue reading...
Posted Mon, 06/16/2014 - 07:53 by David Barrett Admin
Dave has some great tips for you today on preparing for a jam session. You can see these new videos in the "Performance Training Study 4" lesson, in "Section 4."
Posted Fri, 05/23/2014 - 21:34 by David Barrett Admin
In this Performance Training lesson I'll help prepare you for success at a Jam Session. Jam sessions can be very challenging, but they provide a valuable opportunity to gain stage experience, meet like-minded musicians and try new material. No harmonicas are needed for this lesson, but download the PDF to reference as we go through the points in this lesson. This lesson is for all skill level players, but is generally focused on intermediate players. continue reading...
Posted Fri, 04/04/2014 - 09:39 by David Barrett Admin
Excessive volume from the band is an extremely common problem for harmonica players. We have issues hearing ourselves (which causes feedback problems trying to raise above the volume of the band) and all ideas of musicality and dynamics are thrown out the window. Here are some tools you can use to help combat this... continue reading...