March 2011 Newsletter Leader in Blues Harmonica Education WHAT'S NEW! Twitter BluesHarmonica.com is now on Twitter. To keep up with weekly updates to the website and free uploads to YouTube follow our tweets at http://twitter.com/bluesharmonicat European Blues & Roots Master Class Following successful events in 2009 and 2010, the European Blues & Roots Masterclass will take place for the third time from August 2nd-7th, 2011 in the aptly named "House of Music" Le Kleebach, located near Munster in Alsace, the easternmost province of France which borders onto Germany along the Rhine. Local organizer Robert Koch and Steve Baker will once again present classes for harmonica, guitar and cajon with world class instructors in wonderful surroundings at an unbeatable price. Event information and registration documents can be sent to you via PDF by emailing Robert Koch at [email protected] You'll find further information, photos, audio files and testimonials on their website: www.european-blues- masterclass.com BLUESHARMONICA.COM - WHAT'S NEW! Shuffle King - BluesHarmonica.com Original Instrumental Songwriting Contest Sponsored by Hohner Harmonicas www.hohnerusa.com MegaTone Amps www.megatoneamps.com Eminence Speakers www.eminence.com and Fritz Hasenpusch Custom Mics www.harpmicman.com This year at BluesHarmonica.com I and the other contributors are 100% focused on helping to make you a better soloist and instrumental songwriter. Lessons on improvising and songwriting are now starting to release on the site. To give you some fun context to your studies we’re presenting you this song writing contest. Prizes: - 1st Place: Set of 5 Hohner Blue Midnight Harmonicas; Hohner harmonica case; MegaTone David Barrett Signature Harp Monitor ($600 value!); harp mic overhaul by Fritz Hasenpusch Custom Mics, History of the Blues Harmonica Concert 2xCD Set; signed certificate by judges 1 - 2nd Place: Set of 5 Hohner Blue Midnight Harmonicas; Hohner harmonica case; History of the Blues Harmonica Concert 2xCD Set; signed certificate by judges - 3rd Place: Hohner harmonica case; History of the Blues Harmonica Concert 2xCD Set; signed certificate by judges Rules: 1) Use Diatonic Harmonica - Custom tunings, valving, etc. are allowed. You may also use more than one harmonica if you wish (switching harps to play in more than one position). 2) Original instrumental composition (no vocals) - Adapting a non-harmonica tune to the harmonica or rearranging another popular harmonica tune is allowed, but arrangements too close to the original will be scored low. 3) May be acoustic or amplified. 4) Accompanied - There must be at least one other instrument to accompany you. Using a pre-recorded jam track of your choice (most will do this), a live band or just a guitarist/pianist are all good examples. You may have other instruments solo in your instrumental. 5) Groove – Even though the contest is called the “Shuffle King,” the groove can be of any type as long as it’s 80bmp or faster. 6) Must be re-creatable live on the bandstand (including no electronic loopers or sound-on-sound devices). 7) Less than 5 minutes in length. 8) Must be a current, subscribed member of BluesHarmonica.com from the date of your submission to the announcement of the winners. 9) Have fun… enjoy the process! Judging Criteria: Good instrumental writing practices are taught in detail in the Improvising Study lessons at BluesHarmonica.com, but here are the general areas we’re focusing on as judges (David Barrett, Mark Hummel and Rick Estrin) for this contest. 1) Head/Hook - How catchy is your hook or head in your composition? If we can't stop humming it after we listen, you did a great job! 2) Body - This is the solo section of your instrumental. How well you use Chorus Forms, Focus Notes, Rhythm, Texture, Breaks, Bridge and possible Soloing Theme to make your soloing interesting. 3) Execution - This is the technical side of your performance: your tone, rhythm, control of technique (bends played in tune), etc. This doesn’t mean that you have to use difficult techniques in your composition (areas 1 and 2 above are scored higher), but what you do play should be executed well. 4) Recording quality is of no concern. Timeline: 3/1 – Contest Announced 4/1 – Submissions can be uploaded to website 7/1 – No more submissions will be accepted and judging begins 8/15 – Winners announced Improvising Study 1 - Chorus Forms We study songs to gain technique, movement, vocabulary and of course to be able to play a song we enjoy. The ultimate goal of all music studies though is self-expression... to improvise solos and write memorable instrumentals. In these studies I demystify the art of blues improvisation... teaching you how to organize licks within the twelve bar blues progression, basically how we use 2 repetition to create memorable solos called Chorus Forms. Videos Include: Introduction to Improvising and the Chorus Form Process; The Principle of Chorus Forms, Part 1; The Principle of Chorus Forms, Part 2; Review of the 12 Bar Blues Form; AAA Chorus Form - 4 Measure Lick; AAA Chorus; Form - 2 and 1 Measure Licks; AAA Chorus Form with Variation; AAA Chorus Form Homework; AAB Chorus Form; AAB Chorus Form Homework; AAA Chorus Form with Fills; AAB Chorus Form with Fills; AAA and AAB Chorus Forms with Fills Homework; A B/A C Chorus Form, Part 1; A B/A C Chorus Form, Part 2; A B/A C Chorus Form Homework; Homework Assignment #1, Part 1; Homework Assignment #1, Part 2; Homework Assignment #2, Part 1; Homework Assignment #2, Part 2; Homework Assignment #3; Final Words and Closing Michael Peloquin Interview Michael is a respected singer, arranger, harmonica player and saxophonist in the California Bay Area. Traversing Blues, R&B, Country and American Music, Michael is a very diverse player. His mastery of theory, horn lines and overbending makes his viewpoint valuable to BluesHarmonica.com students. Lessons include: Introduction and the Early Days; Early Influences; Michael's Recordings; Importance of Music Theory; Essential Listening - Part 1; Essential Listening - Part 2; Improvising & Vibrato Usage - Part 1; Improvising & Vibrato Usage - Part 2; Accompaniment Playing - Part 1; Accompaniment Playing - Part 2; Accompaniment Playing - Part 3; Tongue Blocking, Bending, Blow Bending & Overbending - Part 1; Blow Bending & Overbending - Part 2; Mastering the High End; Chromatic Harmonica; Equipment & Closing Billy Branch Interview Billy Branch was born in Chicago in 1951 and was raised in Los Angeles. He first picked up a harmonica at the age of ten and immediately began to play simple tunes. Billy returned to Chicago in the summer of 1969 and graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in political science. It was during these years that he was introduced to the Blues. He soon became immersed in the local blues scene. He spent a great deal of time at legendary blues clubs such as Queen Bee's and Theresa's Lounge and learned from harmonica players Big Walter Horton, James Cotton, Junior Wells and Carey Bell. His big break came in 1975 during a harmonica battle when he beat Chicago legend, Little Mac Simmons at the Green Bunny Club. He made his first recording for Barrelhouse Records and began to work as an apprentice harp player in Willie Dixon's Chicago Blues All-Stars. He eventually replaced Carey Bell and worked with Willie Dixon for six years. During this time, Billy formed the Sons Of Blues (SOBs) featuring musicians who were the sons of famous blues artists. The original SOBs consisted of Billy, Lurrie Bell, Freddie Dixon and Garland Whiteside. They toured Europe and played at the Berlin Jazz Festival. Shortly afterward, they recorded for Alligator Record's Grammy-nominated Living Chicago Blues sessions, and Billy has been a regular studio player appearing on over fifty albums. Billy has recorded and/or performed with an incredible list of Blues legends including: Muddy Waters, Big Walter Horton, Son Seals, Lonnie Brooks, Koko Taylor, Johnny Winter, and Albert King. In 1990 he appeared with the three harp legends Carey Bell, Junior Wells, and James Cotton on the WC Handy Award winning album Harp Attack! His most recent recordings for the Polygram label are entitled The Blues Keep Following Me Around and Satisfy Me. Billy is also passing on the blues tradition to a new generation through his Blues In The Schools program. He is a dedicated blues educator and has taught in the Chicago school system for over twenty years as part of the Urban Gateways Project. In 1996, some of his finest students opened the Main Stage at the Chicago Blues Festival which was broadcast throughout the U.S. on National Public Radio. This interview took place at 3 Mark Hummel's Blues Harmonica Blowout on January 15th, 2011. Video topics include: The Early Years; Essential Listening; Recordings; Improvising; Accompaniment; Tongue Blocking; Bending; 3rd Position; Chromatic; 1st Position; Band Communication; Minor Playing; Advice to Harp Players; Equipment; What it Means to be a Harp Player; Closing Complete List of Lessons Visit www.bluesharmonica.com/lesson-list.com for a complete listing of lessons on the website... there are now over 1,500 lesson videos! MONTHLY INTERNET FIND MegaTone's new Wezo ME-18 Harp Amp & Harp Monitor Join me for a tour of MegaTone's new ME-18 Harp Amp and my new Harp Monitor design. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttWKcMtC5qs Pocket Full of Soul Trailer http://www.pocketfullofsoulmovie.com/trailer.html Making Stuff - How a Hohner Harmonica Is Made (Kids show) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMnbjCclpog HarmonicaSessions.com Reminder Check out the current free articles by Kinya Pollard, Winslow Yerxa, Fritz Hasenpusch and me at http://www.harmonicasessions.com/ TRANSCRIPTION OF THE MONTH This month we’ll dig into Little Walter’s “Off The Wall.” This is the instrumental of Little Walter’s most copied on other player’s albums.