Tuesday, December 15, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week (Week 428 #473)

Final Take!!!

Another great session at Old Town rolled to a close last night with another Final Take session - each person spends time during the eight weeks in our Performance Class work-shopping a tune for a multi-track recording. We had a great turnout for it last night; people played well; there were lots of versions of our Song of the Session, Sitting On Top of the World; RickEy's fancy digital device captured it all and Al Taylor is hard at work mixing the songs now for people.

In the end-of-year spirit of looking back at things, how about this terrific compilation of Songs of the Session. These are the tunes we have devoted eight weeks at a time to, breaking them down in detail, looking at their place in blues history, comparing them to similar tunes, talking about the artist and just generally doing a deep dive on each:

2014
Hoochie Coochie Man
Walking by Myself
Honest I Do
My Babe
Juke
Walking Through the Park

2015
Sweet Home Chicago
Crosscut Saw
Stormy Monday
Got My Mojo Workin’
Help Me
Sitting’ On Top Of The World

And coming up? In January we'll start in on I'm Ready.

Class Notes

  • YouMissedMonday is taking time off for the holidays to drink egg nog and champagne, roast large chunks of meat and just generally not write. See you in January!

Shoji Naito CD Coming Soon!

We can't help being excited to share this news so you can be dreaming of this terrific new music hitting in January:

NEW COOL OLD SCHOOL CD release from Shoji Naito coming soon



Featuring 14 fine traditional Chicago blues tracks, with some of the greatest blues artists, Eddy Clearwater, Willie Buck, Katherine Davis, Milwaukee Slim, Erwin Helfer and more.

Amplified Harp Clinic With Martin Lang

Chicago harp player Martin Lang reached out to us with news of his exciting amplified harp clinic:

"HARP PLAYERS! The biggest Amplified Harp Clinic of the Year is ON at Strobe Recording Studios, 2631 W. Division, Chicago, IL, on January 23, 2016!"

Full details here.

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 427 #472)

Recording Rehearsal!!!

We had a great evening rehearsing for next week's recording session. People are sounding great and it's cool that we'll have a handful of people doing versions of our study song, Sittin' On Top of the World!

Next week is also the last night of the session, so be sure to register now for January.

Class Notes

  • RECORDING:  This session's recording date is next Monday, December 14.

Music for Your Brain!

"When you listen to music, multiple areas of your brain become engaged and active. But when you actually play an instrument, that activity becomes more like a full-body brain workout. What’s going on? Anita Collins explains the fireworks that go off in musicians’ brains when they play, and examines some of the long-term positive effects of this mental workout." Watch this cool video to learn more.

Amplified Harp Clinic With Martin Lang

Chicago harp player Martin Lang reached out to us with news of his exciting amplified harp clinic:

"HARP PLAYERS! The biggest Amplified Harp Clinic of the Year is ON at Strobe Recording Studios, 2631 W. Division, Chicago, IL, on January 23, 2016!"

Full details here.

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Harp

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 426 #471)

Recording Rehearsal!!!

This session wraps up soon, so it's time to get your act together for recording on December 14. Most of class last night was prep work for the recording.

We did also wrap up the discussion of Sitting On Top of the World, our song of the session. Takeaways? It's a strong, recognizable melody which leads to its listener appeal and also means you need to know the melody cold. The next step is to learn some variations on the melody. Hey, variations were good enough for the Wolf, so they're good enough for you!

Class Notes

  • RECORDING:  This session's recording date for the Performance Class is Monday, December 14. Next week is the last rehearsal session.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 425 #470)

Sittin' On Top of the World!!!

Someone noticed in class that the band's been playing two versions of Sittin' On Top of the World for people - one with the minor four chord as well as the bar with the hook phrase in it, and the other version without both of those and a four chord in each place instead. Why?

Shoji explained that the best he could tell, the first version to do this is the one from Howlin' Wolf (though Joe made the comment that he has heard the move to a minor chord like that within the jug band tradition on other tunes). So Shoji and the band have been making a judgement call for players in the Performance Class depending on what style people play and what version they are likely listening to.

He went on to demonstrate these differences and we talked about them at length - now class performers know what to request!

Why play that minor four chord at all? Notice that the vocal phrasing for every two bars occurs on the first bar. This leaves an open "hole" on the second bar most of the time in this song. Bands feel compelled to fill such holes with a fill, a chord change, or as you hear in the Wolf version, there is a shift to minor AND a strong rhythmic figure that builds tension and carries into the next vocal phrase.

We also reviewed and listened to a few versions, including, per Joe's request, one we hadn't yet heard from Jed Davenport, which Joe believes is the earliest recording of this song with harmonica on it.

Class Notes

  • RECORDING:  This session's recording date for the Performance Class is Monday, December 14. You should be firming up the tune you mean to record and practicing it each week with the band.
  • Joe is back! 
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Band

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 424 #469)

Study Song and Scale Practice!!!

There isn't a lot of video footage of Howlin' Wolf blowing harp, but lucky for us, there is a version of him playing on our study song, Sitting On Top of the World.

Notice while watching that Wolf solos by playing the melody. Quite a few times. Would you argue with the Wolf? No, right, so it must be a good thing to know and play the melody!

But, for you more advanced solo thinkers, have a listen to Eddie Shaw's and Hubert Sumlin's solos as they are different.

Two other harp things to catch - one, Wolf holds his harp in his right hand, which is different and two, he is clearly blowing the 3 hole in the turnaround, then alternating to the 2 draw. Great to have video to see such things about the masters!

Thanks again to RickEy for a few insightful weeks of pentatonic scale practice. He spent some time last night demonstrating the play-along tracks he's shared, many of them drones that allow you to play through the pentatonic scale without thinking about timing or rhythm. This is all about ear training and getting the scale imprinted indelibly in your mind. The folks playing along in class are clearly making great headway with the scale, so keep it up. Thanks, Highway!

Class Notes
  • RECORDING:  This session's recording date for the Performance Class is Monday, December 14. You should be firming up the tune you mean to record and practicing it each week with the band. 
  • Joe is back next week! Classes run as usual.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Band 

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 423 #468)

Study Song and Scale Practice!!!

Our study song this session is Sittin' On Top of the World, so we passed out the transcription and Shoji spent some review time playing and talking about eight bar songs we all know well to solidify the understanding of the form for us. From there we added that ninth bar you hear in SOTOTW and discussed it as well as the similarities to the Sugar Ray Norcia song Life Will Be Better.

Then we moved to some RickEy time and looked again at the pentatonic scale practicing he's proposing. Use his handouts and the play-along tracks to solidify your pentatonic playing. We also got a little foreshadowing about this idea of playing "shapes" so stay tuned for more of that discussion, perhaps next week.

Class Notes

  • RECORDING:  This session's recording date for the Performance Class is Monday, December 14. You should be firming up the tune you mean to record and practicing it each week with the band.
  • Joe is on tour in Europe for one more week. Grant has you covered in the Level III classes, the Rhythm & Chording class, and Shoji and RickEy are planning things for the Performance class discussions, so don't miss it. Be sure to bring a copy of your Level III transcriptions along for Grant to refer to as you play.


#ReadyOrNot

Dennis Gruenling has a new album in the works, Ready Or Not, and he needs your help to make it happen! He's crowdfunding to cover recording, mixing, and production costs and you can help by chipping in here.

What's in it for you? Well, besides putting more killer DG harp playing out into the world, you can choose from these awesome perks when donating:


  • Limited Edition T-shirts printed just for this campaign
  • LIVE one-on-one harmonica lessons with Dennis (online and in-person)
  • Vintage Bullet Microphones with crystal elements (for harmonica)
  • Guest DJ spot with Dennis LIVE on his "Blues & the Beat" radio show
  • Autographed Hohner Harmonicas
  • House Concert with the full touring band
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 422 #467)

Intro to Shapes and Scale Practice!!!

We took a break from our session study song last night to give RickEy a chance to introduce a practice technique he calls "Dancing Around the Tonic". First he demonstrated a rhythmic approach to playing the pentatonic scale as a practice technique that reinforces the scale in your ear.

Then, beginning with a subset of four notes from the pentatonic scale, he showed us how to play by reordering the notes while practicing, but always ending your practice phrases on the tonic note. This method breaks you out of the phrasing and playing patterns you may be stuck in when improvising and is a good way to step into improvising if you're new to it.

This leads to shape playing - we'll spend more time with RickEy next week in the hopes time allows for exploring the shape idea. Don't miss it!

Class Notes

  • Joe is on tour in Europe a couple more weeks. Zoe and Grant have you covered in the Level III classes and Shoji and RickEy are planning things for the Performance class discussions, so don't miss it. Be sure to bring a copy of your Level III transcriptions along for Zoe and Grant to refer to as you play.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 421 #466)

New Song of the Session!!!

With the start of a new session at Old Town, the Performance class turns its attention to a new standard for study, Sitting On Top of the World.

The popular version for harp players is of course the Howlin' Wolf song recorded in 1957. It is a standard eight bar form BUT it has an added bar at bar 7 that Shoji thinks of as more of a riff bar than a particular chord. If you need to play a chord at that point, go to the IV.

The tune was originally written by members of the Mississippi Sheiks and that band released it in 1930. It differs from Wolf's version in that it has an interlude form and, to Shoji's way of charting it, it has two bars that are 2/4 time mixed in. You still end up with 36 beats, but the bar count is different. Their chart as he sees it is:

I     I    IV    IV
I     I    V     IV
I     I

with bars 2 and four counting only two beats.

We listened to a lot of other versions last night too - Some Summer Day by Charlie Patton May, 1930 is more uptempo, 34 beats, and the second guitar is just not following the form at all. And we also heard Sitting On Top of the World by Bob Wills, Doc Watson, Milton Brown, Ray Charles, Sonny Terry, Bob Dylan, Carl Perkins, String Cheese Incident and Willie Nelson, plus Come On In My Kitchen by Robert Johnson.

It's clear by just these varied versions that this is a standard tune with far-reaching influence.

Class Notes

  • Welcome back to the new session.
  • Joe is gallivanting around Europe the next three weeks. Zoe and Grant have you covered in the Level III classes and Shoji and RickEy are planning things for the Performance class discussions, so don't miss it. Be sure to bring a copy of your Level III transcriptions along for Zoe and Grant to refer to as you play.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 420 #465)

Help Me!!!

Speaking of Help Me, how do you survive playing in minor blues? Well, Joe's got just the thing for you with his Blues Harp Players Guide To Surviving Minor Keys handout. Admittedly it's titled "surviving", not mastering, but hey, minor blues is tough, so start with reasonable expectations.

If, for example, your band insists on a minor tune and your bending chops are not up to snuff yet, recognize that and remember the most important thing is to sound good, so invest in a minor tuned harp for the time being. It is also a great tool for you to find your way around the scale and practicing back and forth from a minor harp to a second or third position harp is valuable.

Use page three of the guide to arrange your harps in the circle of fifths - this makes quickly grabbing the right harp for various positions, minor or otherwise, easy to do. You can do a modified version of this with the usual set of seven you likely carry around.

Spend time with the four pages of Joe's guide - it it dense and super valuable and will get you on your way to better minor and position playing.

Class Notes

  • Next week is the first class of the session, so get yourself re-registered.
  • Joe will be out of town the next four weeks. Zoe and Grant have you covered in the Level III classes and Shoji and RickEy are planning things for the Performance class discussions, so don't miss it. Be sure to bring a copy of your Level III transcriptions along for Zoe and Grant to refer to as you play.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 419 #463)

Help Me!!!

Joe spent time last night breaking down the elements of Help Me. First up, chord bombs. We hear solidly rhythmic playing of those big chords from Sonny Boy through much of the song. They are definitive for the song and hit on the 2 and the and of 2. You can't play these timidly and need to be in the pocket. If you're sideman on this tune, play these anytime you're not soloing and don't let your ADD kick in and wander off.

How do these chords fit into history? Joe doesn't hear a lot of it from Sonny Boy in other tunes, but it is evident in a lot of Walter Horton's playing, whether on Help Me or other songs. Check Feznecky for one. And for you proud owners of the Filisko & Noden canon, have a listen to Love Gone Bad for chord use.

Other Sonny Boy elements to note in Help Me are bright head tone; the edgy, mechanical repeating licks; and the 3/4 headshake with some bend on it. Then of course there's that incredibly distinctive vamp sound that starts from a full tongue block and builds up back pressure.

Joe again emphasized that a second position minor tune is dangerous territory because harps are tuned for major chords. But you should take the opportunity to work on your bending chops and grow. Sonny Boy plays the three draw at least a little flat - sometimes arguably a little on the sharp side of the flat third, but his charisma and confidence carry him. You can't count on that. Work on your blues scale playing!

Class Notes

  • Next week is the last class of the session, so get yourself re-registered.
  • Joe will be in town next week but then away for four weeks. Zoe and Grant have you covered in the Level III classes and Shoji and RickEy are planning things for the Performance class discussions, so don't miss it.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 418 #462)

Recording Session #2!!!

Highway RickEy and Al Taylor rigged B1 up again for multi-track recording and a dozen students laid down a song each last night. It's been a great new addition to the Performance class to rehearse and work toward a polished song at the end of the session. (Ok, this is mid-session due to some scheduling difficulties, but generally, we'll record near the end of each 8 week session.)

Al now spends a ton of time mixing these tunes for everyone so watch for those in your inboxes and be sure to thank them both when you see them for their efforts.

Class Notes

  • Think about your next recording song!
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 417 #462)

Recording Session #2!!!

The group in attendance for Monday evening's Performance class played their song of choice for the next “Final Take” recording session, scheduled for next week - Monday, October 5th at 8:00pm.

Several folks played their song twice, working out the details of their arrangement or their communication with the band. Between Joe’s coaching and reactions from the band, there was a lot of valuable learning for anyone preparing for a gig or recording session.

Next Monday we will use the entire time slot to accommodate as many “takes” as possible, given the number of performers. Like last session, mp3’s of the edited songs will be emailed to participants later in the week.

Joe added that if you are planning on playing harp into the vocal mic, be careful to manage the distance-to-mic during the performance. We discussed using a screen to help with that issue and RickEy is going to look into alternatives.

Class Notes

  • Practice your recording session song!
- Al Taylor and Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 416 #461)

More Help Me!!!

Seems like the newsletter is on a roll with errors lately, so here's another correction: In last week's newsletter, we attributed our study song, Help Me, to John Lee Williamson, which is a rookie mistake for a harp player to make - we definitely meant Rice Miller, aka Sonny Boy Williamson II.

Joe had a cool Rice Miller version of Help Me to share with us last night - he's playing live with the Chris Barber jazz band in England on Lost & Found Vol. 3. It's a curious version because he's playing and signing in the key of C. Of course, he can make an F harp sound terrific and he is a chameleon who can sing in seemingly any key, but why would he do the tune in this key? It's a mystery - perhaps it was just the only harp he had handy; maybe it was the horn band's preference; maybe, as his numerous versions of Bye Bye Bird in every imaginable key illustrate, he just didn't attach a key to a song like we do. In any case, he handles both the harp playing and signing as you'd expect, with skill and passion.

We used some class time for more blues scale practice, taking turns playing the scale up and down over the bassline. Practice this at home - learn the blues scale and run it up and down over a Help Me play-along track so you hear it correctly. Do the same in first and third position. Or, if you're more advanced, nail it in fifth or sixth. Then change the rhythm and duration of the notes you're playing. It's great ear training, bending practice, and you'll find you're sneaking up on improvisation at the same time.

Class Notes

  • The 8:00pm Performance Class will repeat its very successful recording project, this time on October 5. You should be practicing your recording song in B1 next week.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 415 #460)

Help Me!!!

First off, a correction: In last week's newsletter, we misquoted Shoji when we said: "Our beloved Help Me is syncopated whereas Green Onions is not; it is a straight eighth groove."

An alert reader called us on this and we discussed it with Shoji for clarification. What we should have said is: The Green Onions bassline is straight quarter notes and not syncopated like Help Me. Green Onions is, however, definitely a shuffle.

This week Joe passed out his Help Me transcription which we looked through some. Points Joe made were:

  • Help Me is one of the most "famous but also infamous blues songs out there", by which he means, it is a terrific standard but because it is a minor blues, it is often played poorly. (Mind your three draw!)
  • The chord hits John Lee * plays on the second beat throughout the song are clearly a trademark of the tune.
  • When thinking about John Lee's playing on this song, it is clear he utilizes his regular vocabulary of licks, sticking mostly to the blues scale. His three draw is sometimes a tad sharp, but it is flat enough.

Shoji has a play-along track, available here: Blue Onion.

* Update to this post: Above we attributed our study song, Help Me, to John Lee Williamson, which is a rookie mistake for a harp player to make - we definitely meant Rice Miller, aka Sonny Boy Williamson II.

Class Notes

  • The 8:00pm Performance Class will repeat its very successful recording project, this time on October 5. Make a decision soon about what you want to be workshopping in class the next few weeks and get it polished for our recording session.

First Time Harmonica

Know someone wanting to get started playing harmonica? Check out this first timer lesson at the Hinsdale Library, September 27.

Chicago Harmonica Meetup brings you First Time Harmonica.

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 414 #459)

New Song of the Session - Help Me!!!

Shoji led off discussion of our new study song, Help Me by Sonny Boy Williamson II, with a listening session. We heard his original recording and also listened to the instrumental Green Onions by Booker T. and the MGs.

Yes, the notes in that Booker T. tune are the same, but Shoji points out the rhythm is very different. Our beloved Help Me is syncopated whereas Green Onions is not; it is a straight eighth groove. Listen and be sure you hear the difference. *

Clearly though, Green Onions was in the air and influential. It was on the charts in 1962 and Sonny Boy recorded Help Me in 1963.

There was tentative discussion about the songwriting credit. It often goes to Sonny Boy, Willie Dixon and Ralph Bass, but Joe notes that is disputed. Perhaps that's something we can dig into more as the session unfolds.

We took some time in class for people to take turns playing along over this minor bassline. Beware the 3 draw (major third) on this song. Minor tunes are not forgiving of poor second position bending skills, so working on this for a session will give us all a chance to hone our ears and our bending chops. Practice your minor pentatonic scale!

_________________
* Update to this post: Correction: We misquoted Shoji above when we said: "Our beloved Help Me is syncopated whereas Green Onions is not; it is a straight eighth groove."

An alert reader called us on this and we discussed it with Shoji for clarification. What we should have said is: The Green Onions bassline is straight quarter notes and not syncopated like Help MeGreen Onions is, however, definitely a shuffle.

Class Notes

  • Sessions are underway at Old Town again, so be sure to get registered now.
  • No class next week due to the Labor Day holiday - see you again on September 14.

Satan and Adam - Help Make the Movie

"Satan and Adam" chronicles the unlikely pairing of legendary one-man band Sterling "Mr. Satan" Magee and harmonica master Adam Gussow in a once in a lifetime film, shot over 20 years, and showcasing the greatest music duo you never got a chance to see...

And the film needs crowdfunding help to get it to the finish line. Click here to learn how you can help.

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 413 #458)

Recording!!!

We did our first multi-track recording in B1 last night and it was a big success! Students in the Performance class have been working to polish a song each and they recorded with band support. It was a great night. See you after the break to hear the results.

Class Notes

  • Old Town is on break - see you again August 31.


Play On Stage With JellyBone

Our friend and B1 student Mike Faden wrote with this terrific offer for Level 3 and Performance students:

"My band has a gig at CUDAS in Antioch on August 22nd 8pm til 12.

Please spread the word to our harmonicats that JellyBone wants to invite anyone from Level 3 or Performance to come out and jam with the band. We will make sure that each participant gets to play 3-4 songs minimum and would encourage everyone to take advantage of playing with the band. (In other words, if you are coming out I will make sure you are satisfied from a playing standpoint.)

I just thought it might be fun to invite the students.
Also, this may probably be JellyBone's last live bar appearance.

Please send out this invitation to the masses and know that if folks come out, that I will make their participation my priority.

Also, if folks decide to come out, please have them send me their desired song selections."

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 412 #457)

Recording Rehearsal!!!

 The Performance Class is doing our first multi-track recording next week to end the session. Class time last night was devoted to rehearsal and song discussion to have band and performer on the same page for next week.

Class Notes

  • Next week is the last class of the session and then there will be a summer break. See you all again on August 31.

CD Review - Westside Andy

Our friend Tall Paul Sabel checked in recently to share his thoughts on the new CD release from Westside Andy:

Some of my favorite recordings are live blues cds, probably because I really love being at live performances. It is magic when the recording can capture the special feeling of a band dialed in on stage in front of a live audience. Every instrument can be heard, every sung line is clear, and yet it still feels like you are at the live show. Blues Just Happen, the new release by Westside Andy Linderman has all of that and more.

In the first track, “Just Keep Loving Her” Billy Flynn yells an enthusiastic “Blues!” going into a vamp toward the end of the song. These guys were having fun that night in Janesville, WI, and when blues musicians of this caliber are having fun special things happen. Each musician on this recording delivers. Billy Flynn (guitar, vocals) and Barrelhouse Chuck (keyboards, vocals) have teamed up on several recordings over the years, including the Grammy winning soundtrack for the movie “Cadillac Records.” The rhythm section of Steve Dougherty (drums) and Dave Wood (bass) are rock solid. The great musicianship of this group really seems to bring the best out of Westside Andy on this grease-dripping blues set.

I often try to put my finger on what makes Westside Andy such a great harmonica player. He uses all the tools including tone, dynamics, phrasing, space, rhythm, groove, technique, and emotion to seem as if he is playing at ease while being one of the most expressive musicians in the world.

In a time when so many bands are saving money by putting out cds in the sleeve format with no liner notes, Westside Andy invested in a proper cd package with great pictures and beautiful graphic design. The picture of the band in front of a worn brick wall is great, and when you look closer the boarded up windows are actually pictures of each of the stellar musicians backing Westside Andy up on this disc. When I first started listening to blues, reading liner notes in cdʼs from the library and figuring out who was influenced by whom and then checking those cats out was a valuable part of my education and added to my enjoyment of the music on the disc. The notes from Dan Aykroyd and Mark Thompson do a great job adding insight about Westside Andy and the music you hear on the disc. In a digital age, this one is worth buying in physical form.

 --”Tall” Paul Sabel

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 411 #456)

More Mojo!!!

Mojo discussion last night focused in part on slowing it down some to make it approachable to practice over, and also on working from Joe's simplified transcription of the intro melody.

It's a tough song, but a solid part of the canon. Harp players HAVE to know how to play this tune and they especially should be able to kick it off. Spend some serious practice time on this one.

Class Notes
  • REMINDER: For those registered for the 8 o'clock Performance class, this eight week session will end with a multi-track recording session on August 10. You should know the tune you plan to record in two weeks. Please also share the song info with the band. Email it to youmissedmonday or a band member.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 410 #455)

Video Night!!!

Our own AV guy Highway RickEy brought in his video projector and a spiffy new screen so we could watch Mojo videos last night. There was no popcorn, but it was a great night watching Muddy and Cotton perform.

First up was Muddy live at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960. Be sure to check out Muddy's Elvis Presley moves!

The next video we studied was Muddy six years later live on Canadian TV. Audio mix of Cotton is much better here and he is playing very confidently. Note that he solos twice and plays virtually the same solo each time. He is truly locked in on this solo and you'll hear it influencing most harp players to come after him.

Here's Joe's transcription of the Canadian appearance.

Class Notes

  • For those registered for the 8 o'clock Performance class, this eight week session will end with a multi-track recording session. This is your chance to get a tune worked out and well-recorded with the band, so spend time this session polishing something towards your demo disc! Remember you are definitely free to partner with others in the room if you need accompaniment, horn lines, or vocals. 
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 409 #454)

Improvisation Training and the Minor Pentatonic Scale!!!

Over time, our many conversations about improvising and soloing have included an emphatic recommendation to learn the minor pentatonic scale. Last night our drummer and stand-in instructor, Highway RickEy, shared a powerful practice technique that he has developed over the years.

The first step is to thoroughly learn and internalize the minor pentatonic scale in 2nd position, one octave only, starting with the 2 draw. RickEy demonstrated with D harp, in the key of A.

A great way to do this is in rhythm with a metronome or backing track in 4/4 time. For starters, stay in time and go up and down the scale until it is second nature to play the notes and the tones are immediately recognizable to your ears.

Now comes the really fun part… grab an A harp. Using 1st position, you get the same tones if you play the pentatonic scale in the top octave, using last four holes (7 – 10). Take full advantage of your practice with the D harp and actively listen for each of the five tones in the scale. (Bonus – get this right and you sound like James Cotton!)

I think you know where this is going… yes, grab the G harp and repeat the process. This time you are in 3rd position and have nearly three full octaves to work with. The middle octave is a great place to start because it will give you the same notes that you practiced on the D harp.
Notice how this starts small and builds as your skills grow and your ear becomes more adept at recognizing the scale tones. One way to “pyramid” the practice possibilities, in order of easiest to hardest, would be as follows:

  1. Minor pentatonic scale in 2nd position, one octave, D harp (key of A)
  2. Same as above, using a timing device to play in rhythm
  3. Same as above, extending above and below the octave to get the “extra notes” (more on this later)
  4. Repeat the process in 1st position, with the A harp (key of A). (Find a place to practice away from other people, cats, dogs etc.)
  5. Repeat the process in 3rd position with the G harp (key of A)


“Extra Notes”
This just refers to the contiguous notes above or below the full octave(s) that allow you to extend your scale practice… but they don’t comprise a full octave. Note – for the advanced players, when you run out of notes, so to speak, you can skip back to the adjacent full octave and play the “missing” note(s).

Rhythm
Now it's time to practice your counting as well. Set your metronome to 4/4 timing and grab a harp. At this point you can work with just six notes (the scale plus the tonic) or you can add the “extra notes for a different number. Here’s the catch – always start and end on the root or tonic as you play over 4 beat measures. Since the math won’t always work you will have to “make it work” by pausing, playing a longer note, repeating notes or syncopating (advanced).

Finish this step with all three harps and multiple grooves and you’re ready to go on tour.

It's All About The Ear
Yes, the whole point is to be able to hear the scale in all of these exercises. That’s the key to mastering the scale and turbocharging your improvisation with it. However, you have to start somewhere so here is your official YMM blackboard reference chart. Who knows… if we ask him nicely, maybe RickEy will publish a digital one in the future!?!



Hat tip to Al Taylor for this terrific report!

Class Notes

  • For those registered for the 8 o'clock Performance class, this eight week session will end with a multi-track recording session. This is your chance to get a tune worked out and well-recorded with the band, so spend time this session polishing something towards your demo disc! Remember you are definitely free to partner with others in the room if you need accompaniment, horn lines, or vocals. 
- Al Taylor and Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week (Week 408 #453)

Song of the Session - Got My Mojo Working!!!

Shoji's talk last night focused on the history of our study song and also on other versions and similar songs you should listen to.

Remember that Muddy Waters did not write this song - Preston Foster did and Ann Cole covered it first. Shoji shared the recording of her doing it. The tune is clearly very similar, though we hear that Muddy added the chorus part.

Speaking of the evolution of the song, Shoji also points out that toward the end of the released Muddy take, you hear Otis Spann on piano improvising some hits that most of the rest of the band don't play. Later, in the James Cotton solo (one he repeats in performances) you hear that the second chorus of his solo goes to those hits and the whole band is right there with him. This improv from Spann becomes a solid part of the song.

There is only one Little Walter recording of him playing on Mojo, the released take. But there are other tunes with the same or similar groove that Walter plays on. Listen to these and "steal" ideas: Crazy Legs, Tell Me Mama, It Ain't Right and I Got To Go (admittedly in third position).

It's also worth listening to other performers - catch Junior Wells on Two Headed Woman and, per RickEy's suggestion, Corky Siegel with Siegel Schwall Band doing Angel Food Cake. And don't miss Jimmy Reed on Big Boss Man (slower version of the same groove) and Shame Shame Shame.

Listening to Little Walter play on Mojo you might come away with the idea that you have to play busy on this song. Not true, Shoji intones - you can definitely apply simpler phrases like you hear Jimmy Reed doing, and Shoji and the band demonstrated good examples of this.

Class Notes

  • No-Joe-Working! Yup, Joe will be out of town next week teaching at Augusta. Grant will be away too, so expect Shoji and RickEy teaching in the Performance class and Zoe and Shoji will have you covered in the Level III classes. Remember in Level III to be prepared to tell Zoe what you're working on.
  • For those registered for the 8 o'clock Performance class, this eight week session will end with a multi-track recording session. This is your chance to get a tune worked out and well-recorded with the band, so spend time this session polishing something towards your demo disc! Remember you are definitely free to partner with others in the room if you need accompaniment, horn lines, or vocals. 
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 407 #452)

New Song of the Session - Got My Mojo Working!!!

Joe walked us through his transcription for the original Muddy Waters release of Got My Mojo Working last night.

First off, an understatement - it's a fast song. Joe clocked this version at around 225-230 bpm. Just the speed makes playing and soloing on this tune a challenge.

Structurally, harp players should look at this song and see three sections to attack:
  • Verse - Little Walter laid down a riff for this section and you should know it.
  • Chorus - amazingly, this section is mostly a dirty four draw (the fifth scale degree, for those of you trying to apply lessons from Shoji recently about understanding where you are in the scale). Joe stressed here that we need to see the power in something so simple.
  • Solo - It is primarily blues scale; makes great use of quarter note triplet rhythm over the top of the band's "train" rhythm (see this on bars 11, 12, 16, 19 and 20); employs a repeating thematic turnaround; and as for that 5421S notation on bars 1 and 5? Well, it's not totally clear what Walter is doing there (split 4 shake? wide tongue shake?), but the lesson is that it is a BIG sound!
More next week with Shoji back in class.

FlashHarp Campaign on Etsy

Our friend Jim McLean just checked in with us. He is the inventor of the FlashHarp, a playable harmonica that is also a computer flash drive. Etsy is testing a new fundraising platform and his campaign has been chosen for it. Check it out and help him with his campaign if you can. Here's how he describes it and you can click here to learn more:

Mission: The style is called "cross harp" and it was born of the freedom of a slave. That's all we know—and that’s a shame. So I want to make a video to fill-in the missing human story. Video delivers on my FlashHarp® Harmonica USB and will be based on my work of historical fiction, Champion Book.

Class Notes
  • For those registered for the 8 o'clock Performance class, this eight week session will end with a multi-track recording session. This is your chance to get a tune worked out and well-recorded with the band, so spend time this session polishing something towards your demo disc! Remember you are definitely free to partner with others in the room if you need accompaniment, horn lines, or vocals. 
CD Release - It Takes Three

David Barrett has teamed up with two other Bay area harp players, Gary Smith and Aki Kumar to release a terrific new CD, It Takes Three - Three Generations of South Bay Blues Harmonica.

This disc is dripping with that full West coast harp tone, incredibly cool arrangements and very unusually, a lot of sophisticated multi-harp harmony playing. David teaches this kind of horn-line playing in one of his books and now this is your chance to hear it in action and done well.

And, always the consummate teacher that he is, the CD is clearly labeled for harp players listing harps played and positions. AND, for the ambitious or curious, David is also making available a full Transcription Set of all the harp playing on the disc!

Great CD David, Gary and Aki - congrats and the blues harp world thanks you!

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 406 #451)

New Song of the Session - Got My Mojo Working!!!

It's time to study the classic from Muddy Waters, Got My Mojo Working.

Written by Preston Foster and first recorded by Ann Cole in 1956, Muddy recorded it for Chess in 1957 and made it popular. Little Walter had moved on from Muddy's band by this time and the official word seems to show James Cotton on this recording, but to most ears, this is clearly Little Walter playing. Nonetheless, there are live Cotton versions from touring that have killer playing on them and that show Cotton's version definitely influenced later players like Paul Butterfield - Live at Newport Jazz Festival in 1960 chief among them.

What is a "mojo" anyway? Well, it's black magic, spells, voodoo and as Muddy says:

"When you're writin' them songs that are coming from down that way [Mississippi Delta], you can't leave out somethin' about that mojo thing. Because this is what black people really believed in at that time ... even today [circa 1980], when you play the old blues like me, you can't get from around that."

Mojo is a fast, hard-driving song and commonly thought of as 24 bar with the bass playing cut time. Joe pointed out on the original recording that Walter sets up two different harp themes, one on the verses, one on the choruses and then of course there's a solo section that's different from both. Take note, accompaniment players, of the strength of crafting a song like this by repetition.

More next week as we delve into this great tune.

Class Notes

  • Thanks to all who turned out for the Paul Oscher session last week and special thanks to the many who purchased his CDs. Sales were great and that show of support continues to make class guests possible.
  • This week was the first class of the new session; still time to get yourself registered.
  • For those registered for the 8 o'clock Performance class, this eight week session will end with a multi-track recording session. This is your chance to get a tune worked out and well-recorded with the band, so spend time this session polishing something towards your demo disc! Remember you are definitely free to partner with others in the room if you need accompaniment, horn lines, or vocals.
  • Level III students - reminder that the handout Joe shared this week, Filisko's 18 Harmonica Insights, is available at his website - click the links to the two pages in the far right column.


CD Release - It Takes Three

David Barrett has teamed up with two other Bay area harp players, Gary Smith and Aki Kumar to release a terrific new CD, It Takes Three - Three Generations of South Bay Blues Harmonica.

This disc is dripping with that full West coast harp tone, incredibly cool arrangements and very unusually, a lot of sophisticated multi-harp harmony playing. David teaches this kind of horn-line playing in one of his books and now this is your chance to hear it in action and done well.

And, always the consummate teacher that he is, the CD is clearly labeled for harp players listing harps played and positions. AND, for the ambitious or curious, David is also making available a full Transcription Set of all the harp playing on the disc!

Great CD David, Gary and Aki - congrats and the blues harp world thanks you!

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 405 #450)

Paul Oscher!!!

If you missed Monday this week, you missed the blues legend Paul Oscher! (And if your excuse for not showing was tornadoes or the Blackhawks game, well, rest assured the room was packed with people who were undeterred by such things.)

In 1967, as a very young man, Paul Oscher got the invitation to play with Muddy Waters, a gig he played until 1971 and we were lucky enough this week to have Paul sit before us in B1 and share his stories. Paul started with a harmonica gift to him from his uncle who soon saw that Paul's playing for tips earned more than the grocery delivery he had been doing, so his uncle took him to meet Sonny Boy Williamson. That's a pretty good start!
 
By age 15 Oscher found himself doing club gigs. Reception at the first was good and the announcer said afterwards, "Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the little blue-eyed soul brother."
 
Paul was great fun to have in class - he has a good sense of humor and the stories roll right out of him about his life in the blues and about lots of other players - Little Walter, Muddy, Horton, his current neighbor James Cotton, Otis Spann, Junior Wells just to name a few. He says he's working on a book that tells his life story, so watch for that when it comes out one day.
 
And of course, Paul laid down a lot of his killer traditional sound, on both harp and accompanying slide guitar and vocals. Thanks, Paul, for joining us in B1. It was an honor to have you!
 
Class Notes

  • This week was the last class of the session, so get yourself re-registered.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew


Tuesday, June 9, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 404 #449)

Lyrics and Scales!!!

Our own Jim Lucas wowed us last night with his rewrite of Call It Stormy Monday lyrics - a paean to our little newsletter. Here's a taste:

You Missed Monday

They call it You Missed Monday, it carries all the news
If it ain’t there on Tuesday, Lord, I get the blues.

Sometimes it comes on Wednesday, but that is oh so rare.
Never been as late as Thursday, not that I’m aware.

Friday, I check the listings for ev’ry weekend show.
See where Shoji’s playin’, and appearances by Joe.

This week, you'd better be checking the listings for Blues Fest harp players and all the accompanying gigs around town!

*  *  *

While on the topic of lyrics, Jim took some time last night too to speak to the original lyrics of Call It Stormy Monday, written by T-Bone Walker. For Jim's money, and we all know Jim knows a thing or two about writing lyrics, T-Bone did a masterful job on this song. The lyrics are rich in storytelling, metaphors and alliteration and they do a great job moving from narration to first person. Then the song culminates in prayer - "Lord have mercy." All in all, a great storytelling arc.

*  *  *

Given that past conversations pointed out you need command of the major pentatonic scale to get through three bars of Stormy Monday, it felt time for Shoji to speak again to the major and minor pentatonic scales. He walked us carefully through the construction of scales, focusing on these two pentatonic scales and how they're "built". It's crucial to understand that between the root and it's octave lies the other important note, the 5th degree of the scale. Also called the dominant, the 5th is part of all the scales we looked at (and it is a tone or harmonic that exists within the root note if you listen carefully) and is the focus of players' movement. To Shoji, you should always be aware that you're essentially moving between the root and the fifth - how you travel between them depends on the scale you choose.

Remember, we'll be playing and practicing these scales together in class soon, so work on them and practice staying within a given scale.

Class Notes
  • See ya at Blues Fest!
  • You never know who may stop into B1 after Blues Fest, so don't miss next Monday!

Hohner Contest

Hohner has a contest running:

You and your harmonica in the most unusual location!

You and your harmonica – that’s all we want. Be it on a backpack trip through Asia, on your vacation in the Caribbean, or in the middle of a desert. In fact, the more unusual the location is, the better!

What do you get in return? How does 1.000 Euros sound to you? That’s right: We’re giving away 1.000 Euros for the best photo and for the best video.

Details here.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 403 #448)

Stormy Monday Rhythm!!!

There's more to Stormy Monday than lyrics and notes.

By which we mean rhythm.

What is T-Bone Walker doing rhymically when he solos? Shoji broke it down beautifully for us last night. The first step is to think of four quarter notes per bar. Now divide those each into triplets. Then divide each triplet into twice as many notes - six, which is called a compound triplet.

This faster, double-time feel is the rhythm T-Bone Walker hears and plays over at times. If you listen to his solo, he is sometimes playing over slow blues (ie the slow triplets) but other times jumping to double-time. It is important to know he is not just randomly playing a lot of fast notes - he hears 1, 3 and 5 out of those six notes in his head or he hears 1 and 4 and alternates his playing between those two rhythms.

Don't get hung up thinking this is just the sort of thing jazz players do - Shoji pointed out Delta blues players like Charlie Patton did this plenty and you can certainly hear it in the playing of Little Walter.

It was an amazing evening of teaching and demonstration and the take away is, as both Shoji and Joe reiterated, that in this music we love, rhythm is more important (and admittedly more difficult to master) than notes.

Listen again to Little Milton's version because the whole band, not just the soloist, goes to the double-time feel: Stormy Monday.

Joe put together a lead sheet for Stormy Monday here.

Class Notes
  • See ya in B1!
Hohner Contest

Hohner has a contest running:

You and your harmonica in the most unusual location!

You and your harmonica – that’s all we want. Be it on a backpack trip through Asia, on your vacation in the Caribbean, or in the middle of a desert. In fact, the more unusual the location is, the better!

What do you get in return? How does 1.000 Euros sound to you? That’s right: We’re giving away 1.000 Euros for the best photo and for the best video.

Details here.








- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 402 #447)

Stormy Monday Encore!!!

Thinking about and absorbing the chord structure and learning how to play over our study song, Call It Stormy Monday, is challenging enough that Joe felt it warranted hammering home again. So, both for the sake of repetition (hat tip to Martin Lang for stressing that) and because a few people missed it, Shoji again stepped through the chord structure and how substitutions are made to make a song "fancy".

He worked this time from the tune Oh Susanna, showing us the straightforward chord progression first, then adding in possible substitutions and slowly building the song up to a much more sophisticated sound. It was a great example and parallels what's happening on Stormy Monday.

The idea is to demystify and help you play over the tune - taken simply, you can start by playing blues scale over bars 1-6 and 10-12 and playing the major pentatonic over bars 7-9.

We covered this well in a previous YMM issue, so do go re-read this: May 6 Issue.

And for your listening pleasure:
  • Stormy Monday, Bobby Blue Bland Live On Beale Street - Bobby Rush on harp
Class Notes
  • No class next week. Flip something on the bar-b and practice your blues and major pentatonic scales!
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 401 #446)

Martin Lang!!!
Chicago is the home of the blues and we in B1 were lucky enough to have one of our home town's best traditional players spend the evening with us last night - Martin Lang!




artwork courtesy of Andy Willis

Martin kicked off with a few killer instrumentals then worked his way through questions. He is always quick to distill the essential answer to questions down to concise learning:

How do you construct a harp instrumental? Keep it simple and "repetition is my friend". How do you think about accompaniment playing? Blues is a duet between the singer and the harp player, so play a counter melody under and in response to the vocalist. What about sitting in with others? Listen to the drums - blues is all about the groove. And when asked about getting gigs Martin stressed it is all about relationships and connections - be nice and talk with anyone who wants to talk with you.

Martin has played a lot over the years with Taildragger here in town, so it was great to hear Taildragger stories and get a sense for the things he's learned from him. He credits Taildragger as the one who told him to listen to the drummer, but also says Taildragger stressed to him to "take your time" - relax and find your place in the song and take your time expressing yourself. And also, again, keep it simple!

"If it doesn't have groove, it's not helping me forget all the things that are bothering me all the time." - Martin Lang

Thanks Martin! It was a terrific evening. If you missed it, don't go without Martin's fantastic new CD, Chicago Harp Blues Sessions.

T-Bone Walker Interview!!!

We found this great read - T-Bone Walker in his own words from an interview in 1947:


"EVERYBODY in the South has a nickname or initial. I was called "T-Bow" but the people got it mixed up with "T-Bone." My name is Aaron Walker but "T-Bone" is catchy, people remember it. My auntie gave it to me when I was a kid." [read more]

Class Notes
  • No class notes this week. Study. Practice. Come to class.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 400 #445)

Song of the Session - Stormy Monday!!!

Stormy Monday Structure

Even though Stormy Monday is not a harmonica song, both Joe and Shoji are excited to explore the many musical learning opportunities it offers. 

Shoji focused the discussion on the chord changes, which at first glance seem complicated and even confusing. 

The original version of the song is actually fairly standard. However, when the Allman Brothers’ version was such a huge hit, it included the now famous ii III change that has become so familiar. In fact, this song is in almost every guitar instruction book because teachers and authors often select it as the “blues song to know” for the aspiring rock guitarist.

Starting with the turnaround, Shoji explained the power of using the “dominant” to precede resolving to the root. A common turnaround example would be a V V I I sequence, but the T-Bone style of ii V I I is mellower and easier to listen to, especially in this kind of dramatic slow blues. That results in  Am7  D7  G7  G7  for bars 9-12.

Continuing this style, the Am7 in bar 9 can be preceded with the same ii V sequence in bar 8 resulting in:

||  G7  |  C7   |  G7  |   G7      |
|   C7   |  C7   |  G7  |Bm/E7|
| Am7 |  D7   |  G7  |  G7     ||

What the Allman Brothers did differently was to build tension by dropping down one half step (to the Bb) before resolving to the Am7 in bar 9:

||  G7  |     C7        |  G7  |        G7       |
|   C7   |     C7        |  G    |Bm/Bbm7|
| Am7 |  Eb7/D7 |  G7  |       G7       ||

Inserting the 6th (Eb7) in bar 10 is just a little fancier way of doing things and also notice the major G in bar 7 which is more of a jazz sound and less of a blues sound.  This has the effect of making the following chord changes much more dramatic.

Shoji then demonstrated, with both guitar and harp, the power of playing appropriate scales over the chord changes - specifically, blues scale over bars 1-6, major over bars 7-9 and blues/minor pentatonic over bars 10-12. Shoji added that if you are not up to making these scale changes “on the fly” the harp still sounds good over the entire form using the mixolydian scale. Sidebar comment - this was an amazing demonstration of Shoji’s mastery of both instruments!

What About Rhythm?


As much as there is to discuss about chord changes, there is even more to talk about regarding rhythm. Next time we will get into rhythm in detail but Shoji gave us a quick preview by illustrating the dramatic effect of switching from a double time to a triplet feel and back again, while he soloed with harmonica over the Stormy changes. Another amazing demonstration of Shoji’s musical talent!!!

Listen To

Little Milton - favorite of Shoji's; great guitar solo with double-time feel

Martin Lang in B1 Next Monday!!!

Next week we will be welcoming Martin Lang, “a terrific Chicago player who is passionate and dedicated to the blues,” says Joe. He will be bringing his new CD, so join us and pick one up. It should be a fun evening with a lot of Chicago style blues!

Class Notes
  • No class notes this week. Study. Practice. Come to class.
- Grant Kessler and Al Taylor, B1 Blues Crew

Thursday, April 30, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 398 #443)

New Song of the Session - Stormy Monday!!!

(Sorry the newsletter is out late this week. The YMM editor missed Monday! And Tuesday, and ...Thanks to Al Nemcek for writing this up.)

Our next study song is Call It Stormy Monday, a slow 12-bar blues song with a foot planted in jazz, written by guitarist T-Bone Walker and first recorded in 1947. We listened to the orginal version and a version on the album T-Bone Blues, the latter also noteworthy for including two songs featuring Junior Wells on Harp and Jimmy Rogers: Papa Ain’t Salty and Why Not, the latter discussed in conjunction with our study of Walkin’ By Myself.

The original song, in the key of G, has the following chord structure:

I    /   IV   /   I   /  I           or       G7    /   C7   /   G7   / G7       
IV /  IV   /   I   /   I                      C7   /    C7  /    G7   /  G7       
ii   /   V   /   I   /   I                      Am7  / D7  /    G7   /  G7

Bobby “Blue” Bland subsequently recorded another famous version of the song in 1962. Wayne Bennett, the guitarist, plays a chord change in bars 7 and 8 that is now known as the “Stormy Monday change”. Although originally recorded in A flat, the chord structure is shown below for comparison as it would appear in the key of G (note that there are also changes in bars 10-12):

I    /   IV   /   I   /  I               
IV /  IV   /   I•ii   /   iii•biii  
ii   /   bV•V   /   I•IV   /   I•V

or
   

G7    /   C7   /   G7   / G7
C7   /    C7  /    G•Am   /Bm•Bbm
Am7  / Eb7•D7  /    G7•C7   / G•D7

Call It Stormy Monday has been recorded many times by many different artists, including Albert King and the Allman Brothers Band. Versions with harmonica are uncommon, as the song tends to be a little harp unfriendly. We listened to a version by Muddy Waters and James Cotton on Live at Mr. Kelly’s in which bars 9 and 10 are a typical V/IV chord change, as well as a version by Sonny Boy Williamson II on the King Biscuit Time album. You can also apparently find versions by James Cotton and Junior Wells without harmonica.

Toward the end of the class Shoji played Call It Stormy Monday against both a straight slow tempo bassline as well as a shuffle. The song still works as a shuffle but is not as easy to play over.

Joe asked what it is that makes this song a hit. Great lyrics (including the line “the eagle flies on Friday” which refers to getting paid)?,  The laid back guitar? The vocals? The distinctive chord changes? We didn’t come up with a sure answer; nevertheless the song remains popular and has become common in the repertoires of many genres.
___________
Based on our discussion from last week, several of the students this week “opened the hood” prior to their performance in class, discussing form, position, any unusual aspects of the song itself or its history. 

Celtic Harmonica Concert - Tonight!!!

Celtic Harmonica Concert, Thursday April 30, 7:30 PM. 
Corrib Irish Pub 5522 N. Elston.  No cover.  Featured are James Conway, Harry Horan, The Boils, and Donald Black (a harmonica legend, per Joe, whose specialty is the Scottish tremolo harmonica; this harmonica has a niche in Scotland, Finland, French Canada, and amongst the Amish).

Class Notes
  • Joe's back! And this was the first night of the new session. Register now if you haven't already.
Improvising Like A Master

A week ago Shoji led a class discussion on improvising and shortly after, this essay about the mindset of an improviser from our recent class guest, Ronnie Shellist landed in our inbox and he has graciously allowed us to run it here for YMM readers:

"Letting go of fear, and playing what you feel is easier than you think. The mental roadblocks that we put in front of ourselves can sometimes be overwhelming, and bring one's playing to a standstill. I remember the first few times that I played in front of other people how terrified I was. Luckily for me, I pushed through the fear only to find that there was nothing to fear, but fear itself. Yes, FDR was right. My biggest critic turned out to be me. Once I gave myself permission to express myself without the internal criticism, my musicality, and confidence exploded.

My advice to those who feel stuck in this perpetual circle of self-doubt, judgement, and fear is to remind yourself of why you play this funky little  instrument in the first place. For me, it is the indescribable feeling of joy that I get when I play it, and knowing that I have the opportunity to share that feeling with others. Every time I pick up a harmonica, I get that feeling in my gut. I know that when I put it to my lips, and begin playing that there is a bit of magic about to happen. It's the same feeling I had when I first witnessed someone else play the harmonica live for the first time. I had no idea that the instrument was capable of such a range of sounds, and emotional intensity. I remember standing there in a transe as I listened, and absorbed the moment. Everything else faded away into the background. I was one with the sound coming out of those 10 holes, and I had to have more.

Even when nobody is around, or listening, the feeling is there. I try to focus solely on this emotional quality, and tone when I play. I make sure that every single sound I make has purpose. It is my belief that this mental focus is what helps guide me throghout a solo. Sure, I have riffs, ideas, patterns that I have practiced etc. going on while playing, but my brain is dead focused on the sound, and feeling that I'm creating in each moment. This eleviates me of any pressure of "what to play". I always tell students that it doesn't matter what you play, it's how ya play it.

It is important to not continually play throughout a solo. The rest within, or between your musical ideas is crucial as it carves out the message you're delivering. When I'm on stage, but not playing, I'm actively listening/feeling what's happening around me. I'm noticing the nuances of the dynamics going on so I can respond naturally without thought. Give yourself a break sometimes, and let a phrase, or riff just be after you've played it. Don't always follow it up with another riff immediately. This will also allow you to become more aware of how your playing relates to the music as a whole so you can determine what you want to say next.

The end result is pure freedom. When I improvise it feels like I'm always creating a new piece of artwork on an empty canvas. Mistakes, or the idea of making a mistake, never enters my mind because I don't believe in them. Mistakes are simply opportunities to understanding a deeper level of music. Just because a note seems out of place to you, it may make total sense to another person. Don't let an unintentional note trip you up! It just may be the key to unlocking some new ideas, or directions in your playing.

Believe in yourself, your sound, your emotional connection, and let it shine! Over time you'll develop the ability to relax more and more, allowing you to accurately express the feelings you have inside with more control, and dynamic range. Let it happen organically. You can't rush this process so you might as well have fun along the way."

- Grant Kessler and Al Nemcek, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 398 #443)

Improvisation!!!

Our study song, Crosscut Saw, does not have harp on it, so that tune raises the topic of what to play on a tune with no harp...and the idea of improvisation.

Shoji spent some very careful, deliberative time with us discussing his take on improvisation last night. First he made the case that yes, learning to play note for note is a valuable step in the learning curve and is in fact the way classical musicians play. But, when it comes to playing blues, it's clear that the music form is a conversation, not sight reading or rote memorization.

Shoji made a very clever analogy with examples in class, drawing on his early time in the states learning to speak English. You start by reading "canned" conversations back and forth between two people. But clearly the goal in learning a language is to communicate, to have conversations, to express yourself, not to continue on the path of rote dialog. So eventually those canned conversations give way to allowing variation and then over time, you find no need for the paper and the prompts and you are comfortable speaking. You make mistakes, you falter, but you are conversing on your own. And you improve over time by continuing to improve your vocabulary, by listening to the intonation and pronunciation of others, and by strengthening your grammar.

Speaking the blues is the same process. Memorize at first but with a goal to step away from that to conversing on your own. Take small steps varying the "conversation" you've learned - allow yourself to alter what you've learned and open up the conversation to the band around you.

It was an inspiring conversation that was well-received in class and has us all thinking about how to improve as blues conversationalists...or to at least take the first steps to getting there.

Class Notes
  • Joe is stateside! And he'll be back in classes, both group and privates, next week.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week (Week 397 #442)

More Rhythm Training!!!

Getting your rhythm down solid has never been easier because there are so many cool tools out there for you to work with! And RickEy set up the "big screen" in class last night to do a solid walk through demo of all the moving parts and settings in ReadRhythm, the program for your iPhone or iPad that he spent some time on last week. This was a deeper dive into an incredible program, so get it downloaded and get to work!

Other resources you might want to look into:
  • Progressive Steps To Syncopation for the Modern Drummer is not so modern-looking, but it IS the bible for rhythmic training, if you like paper rather than all these apps and digital tools. (And being a drummer is optional - still a valuable book for anyone working on rhythm.)
  • BlueStacks.com - this is a desktop-based program that lets you run any Android or IOS app on your desktop machine - possible workaround to run ReadRhythm if you're not an Apple owner.
  • NotateMe - this is an incredible app available for Android and IOS that translates your chicken scratched notation into standard musical notation. If you are writing music and want to get it down on paper or outputted as a MIDI file, this is for you! Not a cheap app at $29, this is powerful - or, choose NotateMeNow for a lightweight free version.

Class Notes
  • Joe will miss one more week, Monday, April 20th. Private lessons will not take place but all Level III and Performance classes will proceed as normal with sub help from Zoe, Grant and Shoji.

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 396 #441)

Reading Rhythm!!!

Shoji and RickEy both like to say that "music is about playing the right note at the right time". So when exactly is the right time? How do you develop a stronger sense of timing and rhythm?

Enter B1 drummer and passionate rhythm-meister, Highway RickEy!

RickEy lead class last night and emphasized how important it is to command rhythm and counting, regardless of the instrument you play, and started with a refresher on standard musical notation. If you missed class or want to dive into notation further, RickEy recommends you work your way through the terrific WebRhythms tutorials.

Once you have a grasp of reading the rhythmic notation, it's time to practice counting it out and, courtesy of a really cool app called ReadRhythm, you can practice and score yourself. Get this thing loaded on your iPhone or iPad and get to work tapping out rhythms so you understand and internalize them. The app gives you instant feedback and scoring so you know where you stand and whether you're improving.

(For Android users, check out RhythmTrainer or Music Rhythm Master.)

Class Notes
  • Joe will miss sessions in April on the 13th and 20th. Private lessons will not take place but all Level III and Performance classes will proceed as normal with sub help from Zoe, Grant and Shoji.

"Blues All Day Long"

YMM reader Mick Zaklan wrote us recently with this note. Thanks for the intel, Mick!

"Just finished the new Jimmy Rogers biography, "Blues All Day Long", by Wayne Goins.  If you're a blues harmonica player, it's a really nice read.  Sixteen harpists are listed in the bibliography as info sources and more than twenty-five others are mentioned throughout book.  I was especially pleased to see several obscure players get some print:  Little Joe Berson, Henry "Pot" Strong, Good Rockin' Charles Edwards, and Bill Lupkin."

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 395 #440)

Song of the Session - Crosscut Saw!!!

As Shoji and Joe predicted, the ongoing study of Crosscut Saw is a great harmonica learning opportunity. Shoji led an interactive discussion about how to solo with a harmonica over this song, as well as other rhumba grooves.

What kind of solo works? A few tips…
  1. Stick to the blues scale and get in touch with the rhythm.
  2. Learn the guitar melody on Crosscut Saw (at least parts of it, its pretty tough)
  3. Use all or part of a melody you already know from another song.
The third point above led to someone asking for a demonstration and RickEy wowed the class with a totally hip rendition of Juke, played with a rhumba feel. RickEy added that many “shuffle groove” songs would be much easier to convert to the straight-eighth rhumba groove than Juke. However he was able to make it work by emphasizing the downbeat in the first half of a measure, followed by emphasizing the upbeat in the second half to get the Latin feel. Yes, you have to be good at “counting” to make this happen, but it’s a great reason to spend more time working on your counting skills.

Turning to another blues favorite, Joe handed out the tabs for Baby Scratch My Back while Shoji cited both the genius of the author, Slim Harpo, and the wonderful fit of the harmonica solos with a rhumba groove, like Crosscut Saw.

In an impressive impromptu performance, Joe pulled from the Scratch My Back melodies, while the B1 Blues Band dug into the rhumba groove. It really sounded great!

Shoji noted that both songs have a straight-eighth groove, which led to a short listening exercise – playing various blues songs to determine if you can hear the difference between a straight eighth and a triplet groove. In other words, first listen for the quarter notes (4/4 timing common to most blues songs) and then ask yourself if they are divided into 2… or 3… eighth notes.

Joe strongly suggested that everyone add Scratch My Back to his or her repertoire.

Practice Advice
Throughout the evening both Shoji and Joe complimented the musical quality of all of the Slim Harpo tunes. So, ask yourself how much of your total music listening is consumed by your own practice. Unfortunately most harmonica students spend more time listening to their own playing… and not nearly enough time actively listening to the nuances of the many great blues standards.

Joe’s advice:
  1. Listen to A LOT of good music.
  2. Record yourself and compare.
  3. Do more of what you hear is musical… and less of what is not.
Class Notes
  • Joe is touring with Eric in Australia and will miss sessions in April on the 6th, 13th and 20th. Private lessons will not take place but all Level III and Performance classes will proceed as normal with sub help from Zoe, Grant and Shoji.
  • Level 3 students should be sure to come to class with copies of their transcription and be ready to be clear with Zoe and Grant about what kind of help they need.
  • Grant and Al Taylor will host a drop in playing opportunity on April 6th from 3:30-5:00pm in B1. Come woodshed your tune, ask questions or maybe even back up someone else. All are welcome.
Ronnie Shellist Wrap-up

Joe described last weeks' visit as “excellent in every way possible,” calling Ronnie a one-of-a-kind harp player.   “Ronnie is not only talented and passionate, he is intelligent, insightful and well spoken,” Joe said.

He added that the “say it and then play it” advice was excellent for players that aspire to improvise.

- Al Taylor, Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 394 #439)

Ronnie Shellist!!!

B1 was honored to welcome Ronnie Shellist and Gerry Hundt last night! Ronnie, based in Colorado, is in town recording with Gerry so we had the chance to invite him in for lots of great traditional blues playing and great conversation about his background and thoughts on playing.

It's clear Ronnie teaches and thinks a lot about how to explain things to others learning harp. He started with his own personal mantra which is "Feel it. Hear it. See it." By this he means that you should feel moved by music and blues to want to get into it in the first place; that you should put your instrument down and really listen when you want to learn a song; and that in his case anyway, he sees patterns as he plays.

Emphasizing that second point about hearing, he even recommended going for walks listening to the song you are studying and walk in time to the song - really get it in your head and feel it rhythmically.

When asked what tone means to him, Ronnie described that tone for him is "everything", meaning it is the driving force, the thing he uses to carve out ideas when improvising. As he put it, he is not so worried about what's being said, so much as how it's being said.

He says Gerry named him a "progressive traditionalist" and likes the moniker having been influenced heavily by a later generation of harp players like Gary Primich, William Clarke, Mitch Kashmar and Paul DeLay. We certainly heard him lay down nothing but solid traditional blues harp.

Ronnie aligns perfectly with our friend Jim Liban too when he says, "The melody is the message." As he put it, the melody is always safe to play AND, it's what people want to hear.

Check out Ronnie's website, harmonica123 for online lessons and to purchase or learn more about the Memphis Minnie amp he played in class.

Class Notes
  • Joe will miss sessions in April on the 6th, 13th and 20th. Private lessons will not take place but all Level III and Performance classes will proceed as normal with sub help from Zoe, Grant and Shoji.
  • Grant and Al Taylor will host a drop in playing opportunity on April 6th from 3:30-5:00pm in B1. Come woodshed your tune, ask questions or maybe even back up someone else. All are welcome.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week (Week 393 #438)

Crosscut Saw Study!!!

Joe had a couple very early tunes from Tampa Red for us to listen to regarding Crosscut Saw. First up, True Love which seems to be a mashup of rhumba and shuffle. Recorded in 1952, the drums are on top of that straight eighth groove, but the horns, perhaps being swing jazz players at heart, are playing triplets, so it's a little bit of a quirky song groove-wise.

A year later, Tampa Red recorded the iconic Rambler's Blues, this time with Walter Horton blowing killer first position stuff and the rhumba groove is solid. For Joe, the recording of this on December 4, 1953 marks the earliest known blues harp recording of a rhumba. Joe offers both the transcription as well as a tab of the rhumba bassline in first position here. One more interesting note on this tune - Shoji points out that bar 2 is NOT a quick IV but rather a V chord.

Ronnie Shellist
We have a special guest visiting B1 next Monday, March 23, so come catch Ronnie Shellist with his buddy Gerry Hundt next week. All harmonica students and friends of B1 are welcome!

"Ronnie Shellist has been honing his harmonica skills for the past 20 years.  His musical career began in 1997 working with singer/songwriter Hugh Fadal from Austin,TX.  Blues great Gary Primich, living in Austin at the time, was a huge influence on his music as well.  Guy Forsyth and Walter T. Higgs were other big blues/harmonica influences at the time in Austin. "If it weren't for those guys, I never would have pushed as hard as I did to learn how to get that sound out of my harp". His style is a combination of mostly Chicago and West Coast blues influenced by funk and jazz as well."

Class Notes
  • Joe will miss sessions in April on the 6th, 13th and 20th. Private lessons will not take place but all Level III and Performance classes will proceed as normal with sub help from Zoe, Grant and Shoji.
Harmonicology

Joe describes Harmonicology like this:

"Going back a few years I started a class at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music called "Harmonica Rhythm & Chording". My goal was to have a class actually work for ALL playing levels. My motto is and has been, IF YOU CAN BREATHE, YOU CAN PLAY THE HARMONICA and IF YOU CAN BREATHE WITH RHYTHM, YOU CAN PLAY MUSIC ON THE HARMONICA. Harmonicology is the result of that class."

And now you can catch Harmonicology in action on YouTube!





- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

What Did You Miss This Week (Week 392 #437)

Crosscut Saw - Digging Into the Rhumba Groove!!!

Shoji began the rhumba conversation last night by urging folks, especially those who don't also play guitar or bass, to understand the rhumba bassline. He shared the bassline transcription so you can play it on your harp. Even he admitted, and demonstrated, that it is difficult to play this line over and over without variance like a bass player would. Nonetheless, it is very valuable practice time spent working on the line so you understand the rhythm of the rhumba (and begin to appreciate the band behind you more!).

The next part of dissecting the rhumba is understanding that it is not a shuffle but rather a straight eighth groove. What does that mean? Blues is almost always 4/4 time. The four quarter notes in each bar can then be divided one of two ways - evenly into eighth notes, or instead into triplets. The even division gives you a "straight" feel and the triplets give you a swing or shuffle feel.

Shoji ran through a little quiz with us, playing various songs for us to try to ID as straight eighth or shuffle - it's an exercise you should keep at yourself and is great musical and ear training in the car. Put down your harp and learn to listen critically and analytically - fewer accidents and better musicality!

All of which brings us back to the question, having identified our tune, Crosscut Saw, as a straight eighth rhumba, of what to play on it as a harp player. So we listened to Albert King's guitar, learned that he plays almost entirely the minor pentatonic scale on it, and at Shoji's recommendation, we take that to heart. Know that scale and, as RickEy suggests, play it with the rhythmic style Albert King employs.

And, for a couple more hints, listen to Junior Wells and Slim Harpo, both of whom play over rhumbas more than most other harp players.

Class Notes
  • Joe will miss sessions in April on the 6th, 13th and 20th. Private lessons will not take place but all Level III and Performance classes will proceed as normal with sub help from Zoe, Grant and Shoji.
Shoji Jam Tracks

Shoji's play-along track for Junior Parker's Sweet Home Chicago as well as two key versions of Crosscut Saw are now up for sale at his website. (users report some delay before the downloads hit your email inbox, so be patient)

Double CD Release

The Filisko and Noden double CD release show happens this Sunday, March 15 at 7:00pm at the Old Town School, so get your tickets now!

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Week 391 #436 (What Did You Miss This Week?)

New Song of the Session - Crosscut Saw!!!

Shoji felt it was time to work on a blues standard that does NOT have harmonica on it and he's chosen the rhumba Crosscut Saw by Albert King. There a lot of Albert King versions of this tune, but to be listening to the original from 1966, check out discs like Born Under a Bad Sign, King of the Blues Guitar or if you can find it, The Ultimate Collection.

What is a crosscut saw anyway? Well, here's a little classroom drawing from B1 last night. It's in the ballpark. It is a saw that cuts each direction it's pulled and is used to cut across the grain. Some are large enough they are used by two people.


Got it, now what exactly are the lyrics? We've added those below, courtesy of Highway RickEy.

As for song history, Tommy McClennan recorded Cross Cut Saw Blues in 1941 but it was not over a rhumba groove. In the early '60s Albert King recorded a rhumba tune called I Get Evil and then it seems while at Stax in 1966 he laid the McClennan lyrics over that same rhumba feel and recorded the tune we know as the standard, Crosscut Saw.

We listened and talked about a few other rhumbas - Marianne by Ray Charles (1956), Lucky Lou by Jody Williams, All Your Love by Otis Rush, Woke Up This Morning by B. B. King (1952) and Congo Mambo by Guitar Gable.
_____
We had a surprise visit from Martin Lang who blew some killer third position stuff for us. He's got a hot new disc out, Chicago Harp Blues Sessions. Get yours, study up, and look out for Martin as a class guest later this spring!

Class Notes
  • Joe will miss sessions in April on the 6th, 13th and 20th. Private lessons will not take place but all Level III and Performance classes will proceed as normal with sub help from Zoe, Grant and Shoji.
SHC Jam Track

Shoji made a play-along track for Junior Parker's Sweet Home Chicago. It will only be available here for download one more week. And remember, please send Shoji Naito $1.50 via PAYPAL (shoji@shoblues.com) if you download it.

Crosscut Saw Lyrics

Albert King version:

I'm a cross cut saw,
just drag me 'cross your log
I'm a cross cut saw,
just drag me across your log
I cut your wood so easy for you,
you can't help but say 'Hot dog!'

I've got a double-bladed axe,
that really cuts good
I'm a cross cut saw,
just bury me in the wood

I'm a cross cut saw,
just drag me 'cross your log
I cut your wood so easy for you,
you can't help but say 'Hot dog!'

Some call me wood-choppin' Sam
Some call me wood-cuttin' Ben
Last girl I cut the wood for,
want me back again

I'm a cross cut saw,
just drag me 'cross your log
I cut your wood so easy for you,
you can't help but say 'Hot dog!'

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew