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Here's the proposed session outline and format for the first happy hour 1/2/2022 3pm
2:50 pm sound check - feel free to drop in early so we can get the bugs out!
3pm - Welcome and introductions
3:15 - Getting to know your harp - Making noise!
3:30 - Getting started with Blues harmonica - explanations, demonstrations and practice
3:40 - The 12 bar blues - Simple play alongs
3:55 - QandA and wrapup
4pm - after session - anyone can stick around for a while to play , ask questions , get advice etc.
Notes: - We had about 12 people show up for our first session! We reviewed some basics of the harmonica, how it works, the relationship between its intended purpose by its developers in Germany, and its actual use in the US. We looked at the difference between a good harp and a crappy one, primarily its tightness.
We spent some time just blowing and drawing to start building tone and reviewed hand positions and position in the mouth. Finally, we looked at how the C harp actually is used to play in the key of G for blues music and introduced some basic breathing concepts.
There were also a lot of questions including one about the difference between blues and gospel type harmonica playing and structure. I had a decent answer, but it's something I need to look into some more also.
Things to work on:
1) Blowing and drawing on the low end of the harp to hear the C and G chords and start building tone and breath control. Try putting the harp in your mouth and breath through your nose, then slowly let more air go in and out through your mouth into the harp. Controlling how much air goes through this way will allow you to breathe without getting winded or feel starved for air. After a while you won't have to think about this, but it takes a bit of time to develop good breathing habits. Just sit and watch TV and breath in and out of the harp - your ears will help make those micro adjustments that will make the harp start to sound nice to your ears.
2) Listening and starting to play along with jam tracks - specifically 12 bar blues in the Key of G. You can find some of my picks on the jam track features page here . Just listen and try breathing through the harp - see if you can identify when the chords change in the 12 bar pattern. The 12 bar is the basic structure you need to build and later modify for all different kinds of music.
3) start getting used to the basic blues I-IV-V pattern - the low draw is your home , the G chord also known as the I , the root or the tonic. The low blow is the step out the door, the C chord also known as the IV chord. Sliding up the harp some, and drawing in, will give you the D7 chord, also known as the V. Get the feel of this pattern as you listen to 12 bar blues examples.
We will be back again in 2 weeks to see how people have progressed and keep moving in our playing.
Opening music - Juke by Little Walter
C Diatonic Harmonica Layout
Blow Wind- Muddy Waters -Jam track without harmonica to play along with. This is in the key of G so the C harmonica, emphsizing the draw on the low end, will work fine with it. Just keep playing it over and over and get the feel for the chord changes as shown on the diagram.
See the diagram and explanation for how to work the basic blues pattern.
BASIC 12 BAR Blues pattern - Each of the letters below is the chord used for each bar, also called a measure. These each last for a count of 1-4. The G chord is made by drawing on the bottom 3 notes and the C is made by blowing on the first 3 notes. To make the D chord , just start at G and slide the harp a little to the left to draw the 4,5 holes. Dont take your lips off the harp while doing this - try to keep your head steady and just push the harp to your left.
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