LOA Level 1 Submission

Hi Dave.

My name is Geoff Sherwood. I go by ChuiChui on your bluesharmonica website. I’m 58. My wife of 30 years and I live in Montville, New Jersey.  I’m originally from Hartford, Connecticut, and my wife is from Seoul, Korea. I played clarinet in junior high school, and I own an upright Yamaha Disklavier piano which I can play a wee bit, by ear. Why harmonica now in the late autumn of my life? I can thank Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. Two months ago I watched some Youtube clips of them performing together and was enthralled by Sonny’s harp playing. That led me, pretty much inevitably, to your site. It’s structured instruction (Levels of Achievement) and the sheer variety of material – literature, videos, forums, etc – left a big impression and I decided right then and there to give it a go. I bought a C harp (Hohner Special 20), then, after watching your introductory clips, I realized I needed to get an A harp (I got a Suzuki Bluesmaster). It arrived just after Labor Day, so I’m in my fifth week in the Levels of Achievement.

I recorded myself on an LG G4 smartphone, then edited the clips in Sony Vegas Pro 13. I didn’t alter the sound quality at all. I only converted the raw mp4 video files into mp3 audio files, and added short fade-ins and fade-outs where I recorded specific choruses of “Walk With Me”.

For the required “Walk With Me” submission I included a version played at full speed all the way through. I was happy with my playing in the first two choruses, but I made enough mistakes in the 3rd through 7th choruses that I decided also to include separate takes of the 3rd and 4th together, the 5th by itself, and the 6th and 7th together, which I think are at least a modest improvement over my playing in the version of the song done in a single take. I’m going to have to experiment with the placement of the smartphone (as you indicated in one of your videos). The full version of the song sounds warmer than the separate choruses. My basement is not the Village Vanguard. The acoustics are suspect. I don’t want my recordings to sound like a musical interpretation of a nagging mother-in-law.

Lastly, Dave, I just want to say I am having a ball, thanks to you and the tremendous thought and effort you put into your site and the Levels of Achievement program.

I just submitted the LOA Level 1 recordings and written test a few minutes ago. 

Kind Regards, Geoff