In Episode 8 we ‘Hit the 12 bars’. Very slowly. Here’s the tablature. All of those 2-draws are kind of dull. The 4-blow and 4-draw and then back to the 2-draw is OK. After playing it once, he says:
Ar? I expected him to say something about Seven of Nine.
He then goes on to to say we should practice this by playing along with the Mp3 we downloaded from his website. Only, there are no Mp3s at his website. Does anyone know a Blues tune the tabs can be used with?
Day 9 he adds the ‘blue note’, a bent 3-draw. He plays a few notes, and then starts talking about how this makes the music soulful. There’s no actual instruction. No ‘This is how you do it.’ Just ‘Add the 3-draw bend here,’ and a quick one-time play and then a lot of yak-yak.
Day 10: More yak-yak. No practice or instruction. Just the guy talking a quick review of previous vids.
The SO is studying, so I can’t really practice. I’ll save it for the four hours I’ll spend in the car on Monday. I’ll practice the stuff in the tabs, and probably try to add the 3-draw bend and then improvise.
Playing tips are welcome! (As are links to helpful instructional videos!)
He’s talking about the basic 12-bar blues chord pattern, which uses three chords: I, IV, and V. (Chords are indicated by Roman numerals.) That means that you’re talking about the chords built on the first, fourth, and fifth notes of the scale in whatever key you’re playing in. So in the key of G, those chords are G, C, and D. So this is the pattern he’s describing, where each letter represents one bar, or four beats, of music:
G G G G
C C G G
D C G G
The majority of blues songs are based that pattern or a not-too-distant variation of it.
It’s a bit hard to describe. It feels like physically sucking the note down. Pull firmly at the airstream, and lower your tongue/jaw, like you’re saying “ooo-wah” with your mouth closed. Start with that #3, and with practice you’ll eventually find that you can bend all the low holes (1-6) on the draw. The high holes (7-10) bend on the blow, which is a little trickier. The 8 blow bend is a very cool sound.
Oh, I got the bending. It’s just that he didn’t spend any time on showing how to incorporate it. just the one run-through without any actual instruction.
I think my first harp (Can I call it that, since I’m not proficient yet?) was a Hohner Marine Band. I have that Marine Band in the cardboard box somewhere, and the new one in the clamshell case that I bought Friday. There’s a Special 20. A long time ago, too long ago for me to remember when, I bought a ‘Learn to Play Harmonica’ style of book(let) that came with a cheap harp. I recall it didn’t play as well as my Marine Band.
But you know? I’m attracted to certain cheap-o things. I’m really tempted to stop by Guitar Center and pick up a Hohner Blues Band for five bucks. I don’t expect much, but for a fin why not?
(I also have a Suzuki saved in my Amazon shopping cart for when I think I deserve it.)
I expected him to say something about Seven of Nine.