Yes, haha, on the road as we speak. I have met a few of you on the road and so glad to see you when I'm on tour. Thanks for coming up and introducing yourselves when you come see me. Always keeping busy with something...!
Funny how something so simple (Third chorus) is not at all intuitive. however it is coming along slowly...It's enhancing my appreciation/respect for those first 3 holes. Sweet tone when it comes out right.
It's Friday evening, I just walked in the door from work, saw the email & you two gentlemen just put a big smile on my face! Really enjoyed it, thank you...& looking forward to the lesson...how many takes did it take?
Dennis, great to have you back! You've got a lot of BWH all packed in there...made me dig out my "Offer You Can't Refuse" disc. Should be fun to work on.
Thanks Paul! Yea, those recordings of Big Walter (with Robert Nighthawk) on that record certainly inspired this tribute to him. That is some of his best playing on there, although the recording quality isn't great.
Welcome back Rick. Sonic Junction is like a tour-de-force of Blues Harp teaching talent between you Dennis & Jerry...Can I quit my day job and just play harp?!
With the price of harps, probably not - Food, clothing and shelter are kinda essential too. Hopefully you're having fun playing and it relieves some of the drudgery of the day job.
Dennis, Thanks for the groovy lesson!...it's making me learn. I'm hoping to make it down to see you & Steve Guyger at The Record Collector/Bordentown NJ on the 19th.
Mike, I've been working on this part as well. I'm finding it's a tight seal on the 7, tongue forward & sort of saying "thwee or thway" mid-tongue is pressing upward and compressing/restricing the airflow against the roof of the mouth.
Yes...and please keep in mind that the 7 blow does not bend much (similar to the 5 draw) and bending this note too hard will shorten the life of the reed, as which often happens with the 5 draw. These notes only bend for inflection, not all the way to another actual note, which would be a 1/2 step change in pitch.
On the 4-5-scoop6 I find I have to really press my toungue down & get a tight seal to grap that scoop since I'm fairly relaxed moving over the 4 & 5...seems like one tricky part.
I also don't don't seem to be able to do the left/rt tongue thing (not without it sounding like a slot machine)...Shake or tremolo are fine
Hi Paul - with each of those things (the 6 draw scoop/bend, and the tongue trill), just treat those as totally seperate things to work on and practice individually. Those are each techniques, that once you have down, you will be able to use at will. I always tell my students work on one technique at any given time, and when you get it down, then you can work on utilizing it in context and work on another technique you may not be comfortable with yet.
The 6 draw scoop is a bend, so I would work on bending the 6 draw more first. Practice it until you can get it smooth and comfortably. Any kind of "technique practice" like this should be done in short doses, but multiple times a day if possible. It's just a matter of muscle/brain memory. Then tackle the tongue trill. Also keep in mind you can always utilize a shake/trill, vibrato, tongue trill, etc, pretty much interchangeably. Though they are all different, they all mainly add texture and variation to the primary note you want to play.
I just got a chance to start looking at this lesson & I was trying to figure out what you were using in the performance...question answered LOL....a Charmin' touch
Jerry, thanks for this lesson and welcome back (and for bringing Rick into the fold...great stuff)!
I'm thrilled you're teaching off of From the Cradle. It was this CD that initially attracted me to Blues and wanting to learn harmonica back in '96. Unfortunately it wasn't until 4 yrs ago that I actually picked up a harmonica, but better late than never. In any case, 18 yrs later it's stil one of my favorites albums & how cool is that I/we can be learning from you on Sonic Junction! Blues Leave Me Alone & Goin' Away Baby & variations on How Long Blues would all would make great lessons too...
A nice Friday treat! Thanks Rick
Thanks Paul, I hope you enjoy the series.
Well done Ivan, excellent tone.
Rick, I'm enjoying this one. I like the contrasts in this lesson...nice and upbeat contrasting with the blues notes & some shock & awe!
Hey! Thanks Paul! Sorry I didn't reply sooner. I just saw this. Keep me updated on your progress and feel free to ask for clarification anytime.
Dennis, you've been one busy dude! Thanks for the lesson!
Yes, haha, on the road as we speak. I have met a few of you on the road and so glad to see you when I'm on tour. Thanks for coming up and introducing yourselves when you come see me. Always keeping busy with something...!
Funny how something so simple (Third chorus) is not at all intuitive. however it is coming along slowly...It's enhancing my appreciation/respect for those first 3 holes. Sweet tone when it comes out right.
For sure! Like I told Bill, if you put in the time there, there's a whole world of sounds, ideas and riffs available in just those first three holes.
It's Friday evening, I just walked in the door from work, saw the email & you two gentlemen just put a big smile on my face! Really enjoyed it, thank you...& looking forward to the lesson...how many takes did it take?
I can't remember exactly - I think there were a couple aborted takes before this one.
You're rockin' it, well done Gareth!
Great lesson Dennis, Thank You!
Thanks! Glad you dug it....I'll be back!
Dennis, great to have you back! You've got a lot of BWH all packed in there...made me dig out my "Offer You Can't Refuse" disc. Should be fun to work on.
Thanks Paul! Yea, those recordings of Big Walter (with Robert Nighthawk) on that record certainly inspired this tribute to him. That is some of his best playing on there, although the recording quality isn't great.
Welcome back Rick. Sonic Junction is like a tour-de-force of Blues Harp teaching talent between you Dennis & Jerry...Can I quit my day job and just play harp?!
With the price of harps, probably not - Food, clothing and shelter are kinda essential too. Hopefully you're having fun playing and it relieves some of the drudgery of the day job.
Dennis, Thanks for the groovy lesson!...it's making me learn. I'm hoping to make it down to see you & Steve Guyger at The Record Collector/Bordentown NJ on the 19th.
Thanks so much!! If you can make it out, be sure to come up & introduce yourself!!
Well done Mike, you sound great!
I believe Dennis said It's a box shuffle, hence the name of the song. Ascending, vs a descending box shuffle.
Mike, I've been working on this part as well. I'm finding it's a tight seal on the 7, tongue forward & sort of saying "thwee or thway" mid-tongue is pressing upward and compressing/restricing the airflow against the roof of the mouth.
Great, thanks for the tip. I think I've found the TB'd feel for this part of the chorus...tone isn't there yet but it'll improve.
Sure thing Paul! As long as you continue practicing the TB'ing, the tone and ease of technique will just get better and better.
Dennis, are you TB'ing the 7 blow bend?
Thx
Yes...and please keep in mind that the 7 blow does not bend much (similar to the 5 draw) and bending this note too hard will shorten the life of the reed, as which often happens with the 5 draw. These notes only bend for inflection, not all the way to another actual note, which would be a 1/2 step change in pitch.
On the 4-5-scoop6 I find I have to really press my toungue down & get a tight seal to grap that scoop since I'm fairly relaxed moving over the 4 & 5...seems like one tricky part.
I also don't don't seem to be able to do the left/rt tongue thing (not without it sounding like a slot machine)...Shake or tremolo are fine
Hi Paul - with each of those things (the 6 draw scoop/bend, and the tongue trill), just treat those as totally seperate things to work on and practice individually. Those are each techniques, that once you have down, you will be able to use at will. I always tell my students work on one technique at any given time, and when you get it down, then you can work on utilizing it in context and work on another technique you may not be comfortable with yet.
The 6 draw scoop is a bend, so I would work on bending the 6 draw more first. Practice it until you can get it smooth and comfortably. Any kind of "technique practice" like this should be done in short doses, but multiple times a day if possible. It's just a matter of muscle/brain memory. Then tackle the tongue trill. Also keep in mind you can always utilize a shake/trill, vibrato, tongue trill, etc, pretty much interchangeably. Though they are all different, they all mainly add texture and variation to the primary note you want to play.
Dennis, great to see you up on SJ! looking forward to the breakdown...
Paul
Hi Paul - thank you! I'm very glad to be here, and I think this is a great format for learning tunes.
I just got a chance to start looking at this lesson & I was trying to figure out what you were using in the performance...question answered LOL....a Charmin' touch
Jerry, thanks for this lesson and welcome back (and for bringing Rick into the fold...great stuff)!
I'm thrilled you're teaching off of From the Cradle. It was this CD that initially attracted me to Blues and wanting to learn harmonica back in '96. Unfortunately it wasn't until 4 yrs ago that I actually picked up a harmonica, but better late than never. In any case, 18 yrs later it's stil one of my favorites albums & how cool is that I/we can be learning from you on Sonic Junction! Blues Leave Me Alone & Goin' Away Baby & variations on How Long Blues would all would make great lessons too...
Best,
pw