breaks

In Gary’s latest submission we continue the focus on songs that use breaks.

In Gary Smith's latest submission he speaks of songs that use breaks.

“As a general rule, rest 10 minutes of each hour that you spend in the practice room. Rest more if you’re working vigorously or adopting new techniques. A sensible practice-to-rest ratio, widely recommended by teachers and medical authorities, is to practice no more than 25-30 minutes before pausing for a 5-minute respite. Many musicians opt for more frequent breathers and rest 2-3 minutes every 15 minutes or so.” Pg 12

Here are the two most common breaks used in the middle of a song: 1) Downbeat of Bar 1 - This is where you start your slow hand raise (remember, count of 4) in Bar 12 and drop your hand on the downbeat of the next chorus. You play for 4 Bars by yourself and the band enters back in on Bar 5 (IV Chord). A good example of this is George "Harmonica" Smith's instrumental "Juicy Harmonica" (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/filiskobarrettgruenling) 2) Downbeat of Bar 12 - This is where you start your slow raise in Bar 11 and drop your hand on the downbeat of Bar 12. continue reading...

This one is messed up all the time, but is an easy fix. Raise your hand to the count of 4... slowly raising it high over your head in an arcing motion and drop it quickly on beat 1 of the next bar. This "up slow" (4 counts) and "down fast" (downbeat of the next bar) is key. Practice this to varying speeds of music. More on this tomorrow.