Tuesday, December 17, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 593 #639)

We had a full house and a great night of performances this week - thanks to all who brought their A game! Joe reminds folks that you need to let him know if there's something in particular you need or want feedback on. Let him know what you're working on so he knows what to listen for.

Reviewing the call for having someone accompany you, Joe points out that 90% of the time you're on the bandstand, you're not soloing. You need to learn to play accompaniment so that you contribute to the songs and accompaniment time in class is the opportunity for all to learn that skill.

And a thought about the long inhale practice within our call and response exercises - the first three seconds and the last three seconds of those are the hardest for your body. Work at trying to sound even throughout your long hold notes and chords, even if your body feels otherwise. And for extra credit once you're comfortable with that, work at adding a crescendo toward the end. Your breath will want to trail off, but musically, you want to end strong.
 
Class Notes

  • HAPPY HOLIDAYS! We're on break now until we resume on Jan 6. (Practice your Christmas songs - melodies with bends are a great way to strengthen your command of bent notes...and your family will love them.)
  • Register now for the next session. Signing up early helps Joe and the school ensure the classes can happen. 
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 592 #638)

Lamont Harris stopped by to chat and play a couple tunes - great to have you, Lamont!

He shared gigging stories and has been performing as part of the band at Black Ensemble Theater pieces recently. Catch him in the next show, The Legends of Music, starting in January. 

Class Notes

  • Next week is the last class of the session. Holiday break after that until we resume on Jan 6.
  • Register now for the next session - there's a $15 discount on offer now; ask for it when you register.


- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 591 #637)

Call and repeat worked its way up to the 6 draw this week and Bob remarked that's the "blusiest of the non-blue notes". Joe picked up on that and noted that it is definitely a note to use over the V chord, the climax of the blues form. And there are two ways to make it blusier - play it a little dirty and work in an ornamental bend. 

Class Notes

  • See you tonight! Harlem Avenue Harp Party - Tuesday, December 3, 8pm at the Harlem Avenue Lounge. Come on out and play a few songs!
  • Register now for the next session - there's a $15 discount on offer now; ask for it when you register.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 590 #636)

We had a great time welcoming Dave Przewlocki to B1 last week and in addition to great performances this week, Joe did a little debrief of our guest's time with us. Joe notes he's a studied player with an intense interest in the recordings of the greats.

Class Notes

  • Happy Turkey Day!
  • Harlem Avenue Harp Party - next Tuesday, December 3, 8pm at the Harlem Avenue Lounge. Come on out and play a few songs!
  • B1 student Cliff Weber passed away October 26 - our best to his family and RIP, Cliff. 
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 589 #635)

We had a great time welcoming Dave Przewlocki to B1 last night. Visiting from Arizona, Dave connected with RickEy at a jam in town who encouraged him to bring his singing and powerful traditional harp playing to class. Influenced a lot by Little Walter, Dave says, "I want to catch his fire, not the notes."

Thanks for coming by Dave and stop in anytime you're in town!

Class Notes

  • Joe's back! And now's the time to re-register for your private lessons. 


Grant Dermody Launches Album Campaign
Grant is kicking off a new album, My Dony, and you can help him with it:


"I am so excited to tell you that I am finished with the work on my fourth album, My Dony. It’s the best recording I’ve done. Powerful, deep, and joyful, it tells the truth. I am launching this IndieGoGo campaign so that you can help me get My Dony out into the world despite the post production costs for manufacturing, promotion, and distribution.

You can stream it here.

My Dony is an electric blues album, though it didn’t start out that way. We set out to make a record and figured it would span a wide range of styles, much like my other projects. Part way through the first day of recording it became obvious, in listening back to what we had done, that the electric blues tunes were just too strong, and the acoustic instruments and tunes wouldn’t fit the vibe that was pushing its way in. The most powerful tune was “My Dony,” a way deep down electric blues tune that Dirk wrote, so off we went, chasing that feel. The recording told us what it wanted to be; we listened.

It’s old school blues, not by stated intent, but because that’s how we hear the music. It’s who we are as musicians. I wrote three of the tunes, Dirk wrote three, and two we wrote together along with help from the band. I play harmonica and sing lead. Dirk plays guitar, piano and sings harmony. Jason Sypher on bass, and Jamie Dick on drums round out the core band, and special guest Rhiannon Giddens."

Support Grant and get your own advance copy here!

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 588 #634)

You want to see a great harmonica performance?

Check this one out: World War II veteran plays national anthem on harmonica. Here's hoping we're all such players at 96!

Get your performances ready for Joe next week...

Class Notes

  • Joe returns next week! 
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 587 #633)

B1 is rocking with performances and we're happy to welcome back our "winter" bass player Al Taylor. When fishing slows he joins us to hold down the bottom!

Class Notes

  • Joe returns soon! Grant is covering all group classes through November 11, then Joe will be back. 

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 586 #632)

We kicked off a new session yesterday with good energy in all the classes! If you're not registered, fix that now.

Class Notes

  • Heads up that Joe is touring Europe this fall. Grant is covering all group classes through November 11. 
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 585 #631)

We're carrying on well with Joe away, but of course he's missed!

Grant led breathing practice and call & response in the Level III classes. He might be sneaking in a different phrase or two from Joe's arsenal, so get registered for class to join in!

Class Notes

  • Congrats to our own Richard P. Bennett who's been named a Hohner H.A.R.P. Artist!
  • It's time to be sure you're signed up to improve your harp playing. Register now for the next session which starts next week!
  • Heads up that Joe is touring Europe this fall. Grant is covering all group classes through November 11. 
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 584 #630)

We had great performances in the Performance Class along with some workshopping of song details.

Good to see our friend Tom Gilmore back in town!

Class Notes

  • It's time to be sure you're signed up to improve your harp playing. Register now for the next session!
  • Heads up that Joe will be touring Europe this fall. Grant will be covering all group classes starting Oct 14. 
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 583 #629)

Mr. G gave us a recap of his time at the Great Lakes Harmonica Retreat put on by Steve August. It sounds like it was a great time with great instructors, so be sure to get yourself registered to participate next fall. Details here.

Following up on Joe's remarks last week about the power of the call and response learning, he stressed that yes, these are blues scale phrases, but more than that, they are about sounds. The phrases you're learning in this work are playing to the strength of the instrument and its ability to make low down blues scale SOUNDS.

Class Notes

  • EXTENDED THROUGH WEDNESDAY: $15 Off Adult Group Classes with Code GROOVYGHOSTS19. Register now.
  • Heads up that Joe will be touring Europe this fall. Grant will be covering all group classes starting Oct 14. 


- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 582 #628)

We're cranking on the call and response work. Joe emphasized last night that this breathing exercise is also teaching you the blues scale and its strength on the harmonica. It's one thing to know the notes of the blues scale which often leads to just that, non-bluesy single-note playing. Harmonica blues is tied to the correct notes, yes, but it is so much more and these techniques and phrases we're playing are ingraining that for you as a player.

Class Notes

  • See you TONIGHT at the Harlem Harp Party (8pm)!
  • Register now for the next session and save $15. Use promo code GROOVYGHOSTS19.
  • Heads up that Joe will be touring Europe this fall. Grant will be covering all group classes starting Oct 14. 

Band Seeks Harp Player
This band, located in the Jefferson Park area of Chicago, is looking for a harp player. For info call Tim Wilsye (630) 649-2647.

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 581 #627)

Dov Hammer!
It was great to have Dov Hammer in B1 last night! In town from Israel where he lives and gigs, Dov played a lot of killer blues and talked about his influences and the Israeli blues scene.

When young, he of course wanted to play guitar but all his friends played guitar so in order to find a place in bands, he picked up the bass. When drafted he missed making music and found his way to the harp because it is small, portable and it appeared on Muddy Waters records.

He had no instructor so the records were his teacher and he started as a pucker player. Now he's learned the importance of tongue-blocking but admits there are things like blow bends he reverts to puckering for.

Being in Israel meant less access to the pros but some did come through and Paul DeLay was one he talked a lot about as being a big influence on him. Hearing Paul play helped Dov think out of the box.

Here are a few choice comments:

"You gotta be careful writing blues songs so you don't sound like you're imitating anyone." In his own tunes, Dov tries not to do standard 12-bar shuffles and not to imitate others' phrases too carefully.

He admitted to not being a big gear head. "I like the gear working for me, not to be working for the gear." Lately he finds himself preferring the vocal mic and sometimes running an SM57 straight into the board to be heard and in all the speakers.

He loves one-chord tunes (and played a great example for us) because blues is a feel- and groove-based music.

How does he approach solos? With a lot of rhythm, first off. He also thinks of them as an extension of the vocals. Look at how people speak - with pauses, breaks and space. He likes to phrase that way when soloing too. Also, keep it short and to the point. Need an example? Notice that is exactly what all the Little Walter solos are - short and killer!

Here's a key message that ties in to the breathing work Joe's been working with us on lately. Dov tells his students that "it's not supposed to be hard; you should be breathing easily through the instrument. If you're blowing hard, you're doing it wrong."

If you missed Dov, don't let it happen again! And head over to his website to pick up a copy of his new release, BlueSoul. Thanks Dov, and thanks to David Kachalon for making this happen.

Class Notes

  • See you next Tuesday, Oct 1 at the Harlem Harp Party (8pm)!
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 580 #626)

We're back in business with call and response and breathing practice in B1! Special reminder not to leave off the ghost chording. The harp is a rhythm instrument and the ghost chording keeps you anchored in that rhythm.

SPECIAL GUEST NEXT WEEK:  We'll welcome Dov Hammer all the way from Israel in B1 next week at 8pm. Everyone's welcome to come hear him play and talk. Be there!

Class Notes

  • The next Harlem Harp Party is Oct 1 - mark your calendars!
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 579 #625)

The long summer break is over; people are rested; and the blues in B1 sounded great last night! Welcome back and welcome to the new folks too!

Class Notes

  • The next Harlem Harp Party is Oct 1 - mark your calendars!
  • Not registered this session? There's still time!


- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 578 #624)

Speaking of breath control, what about when you sing? Vocals require full lungs and exhaling; harp playing is the opposite. With this in mind, Joe demonstrated a simple arrangement of the song Chain of Fools. (In his case, more R. L. Burnside than Aretha Franklin!)

It's a one-chord tune and he plugged inhale chording into the fill spaces. It is super simple but lets you practice singing and harp playing in a way that complements each other in terms of the breathing. Great exercise; give it a try!

Class Notes

  • The Harlem Harp Party is TONIGHT, July 30 - be there!
  • There are two more weeks of Old Town sessions then the school takes a break. Classes in B1 resume September 9.

Vacation Notice
Your YMM editor is "im Urlaub" eating and drinking his way across Munich and northern Italy, so there will not be a newsletter the next two weeks.

Wir sehen uns in September wieder!

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 577 #623)

Joe's back from the Augusta Heritage Festival and classes were back to digging into call and response, this week with some new emphasis on the 5 draw bend. It's not a full bend, but it's killer blues, so be sure you master it!

Class Notes

  • The Harlem Harp Party is next week, July 30 - be there!
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 576 #622)

Shh. Don't tell Joe what we were up to while he was away this week at Augusta Heritage Festival!

Well, truth is, we behaved. Performance class performed and workshopped songs; other classes worked on call and response and the Rhythm & Chording class even did a little jam circle practice to prep people for SPAH this August.

Class Notes

  • Joe's back next week and all classes and privates run as normal.
  • The next Harlem Harp Party is July 30 - mark your calendars!
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 575 #621)

Too many players don't know where the bluesiest stuff is on the harp - our call and response exercises point right at the bullseye of maximum blues horsepower!

Fun fact - the full bend on the 4 draw is beyond the flat fifth. It is equivalent to a slightly sharp 4 blow.

We did a slow blues accompaniment review last night based on Blue Midnight. Your best options for a tune like this are a sustained chordal effect or sustained chords that align with the chord changes.

Class Notes

  • Joe's away next week, but Grant will be covering all the group classes as usual. If you have a private lesson with Joe on Monday, that falls out this week.
  • The next Harlem Harp Party is July 30 - mark your calendars!
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 574 #620)

Chordal Effect Review

As we work on breathing through call and response, we're also sharpening our techniques. Last night Joe gave a quick review of the four main Chordal Effects:

  • head or hand shake (you'll hear this a lot from Little Walter)
  • tongue shake
  • rapid vamping
  • dirty tremolo - 4 draw with a little bit of 5 (this is a classic Big Walter sound)

Practice these over a play-along track - you should be able to play one of these inhale techniques for 4 bars.

Class Notes

  • The next Harlem Harp Party is July 30 - mark your calendars!
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 573 #619)

Call and response observation this week: the phrases Joe is playing for us to replay are harp-friendly blues scale. Learning these is the fast track to the deepest, darkest, spookiest, greasiest blues.

If that's what you want, be in B1 on Mondays!

Class Notes

  • The new Old Town session started this week - there's still time to get yourself registered.
  • The next Harlem Harp Party is July 30 - mark your calendars!


- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 572 #618)

Breathing practice and call and response continues. Are you working on it at home? Keep it up and time yourself - can you hit that 9 second mark regularly? You should be able to play an inhale chordal effect for 9 seconds (about 4 bars of a mid-tempo tune).

Class Notes

  • This Old Town session ends this week - get yourself registered now for the next session. Can't make it? Send your neighbor who's been admiring your playing and growth!
  • The next Harlem Harp Party is July 30 - mark your calendars!
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 571 #671)

It was another good night of breathing practice...plus a bunch of guest performances from Mr. Oh Yeah visiting from Japan!

He's got a new CD out, Blues From the Juke Joint with harp on it from Joe Filisko, Kotez and Martin Chemes. Congrats Mr. Oh Yeah and thanks for stopping by.

Class Notes

  • This Old Town session ends next week - get yourself registered now for the next session. 
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 570 #616)

Breathing and call and response work this week had more phrases with the three draw in them. How does that work when we try to avoid that generally? First off, they did not fall on the downbeat so they have more of a passing tone character. And secondly, they are helped by the dominance of the four draw played before/after it - the dissonance of the four draw on the downbeat overshadows that bit of three draw.

Fun to have our friend Giulio from Italy stop by this week!

Class Notes

  • It's Blues Fest weekend, which always means a lot of fun impromptu guests in B1 next Monday - wonder who will show?
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 569 #615)

Practice Technique with Highway RickEy
Are you an aspiring harp player? Then as Joe says, you should be listening to the greatest players (especially Little Walter!) with precision. Listen carefully to them; transcribe what you hear; imitate them as best you can.

And to help you do this better, Joe introduced Highway RickEy this week to let him speak about his careful, controlled practice techniques using digital slow down tools. Gone are the days when you needed to hack a Sony Walkman with a potentiometer to get a tune slowed down so you could study it. Now you have Amazing Slowdowner and to a lesser degree, Audio Stretch, that can help you slow down, loop, change pitch and more.

Using the tech tools as just what they are, tools, RickEy walked us through how he uses them for masterful practice.

First step, slow it down. Take the piece you want to own and slow it down. Then, very important, cut it into small pieces. Do not attempt to work on the whole song at once. Isolate the pieces you can't play and listen and work on just those one at a time, a bar or two at a time. Stumbling? Choose an even smaller segment to attack. Work this way until you truly own it, but if your skills aren't equal to the player you're studying, remember that it's better to do something simple well, rather than something complicated sloppy. Simplify the piece to align with your ability or choose a simpler piece altogether.

RickEy demo'd various practice techniques that Amazing Slow Downer allows, including looping, rapid recall, backchaining (playing last fragments of a song first), breaking up by chord changes and more. Dig into the settings and improve your practice time to be more efficient and targeted at the things you most need to learn.

Class Notes

  • No class (and no newsletter) next week due to the Memorial Day holiday.
  • Private lesson registration is now open for returning students. Lock in your private lesson slots now.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 568 #614)


Joe's still thinking about breathing, as you can see by his fancy medical device known as an incentive spirometer. Be like Joe for not a lot of money on Amazon and test your breath capacity at home!


When playing, Joe noted there are two temptations you need to resist - 1) that you truly push enough air out before you start and 2) that you don't partially inhale just before you start playing. Take some time to observe your fellow harp players and you'll see how common both are. Maybe seeing it in others will help you also see it in yourself.

Digging Deep - Better Practice Technique with Highway RickEy
Joe has great respect for the diligence RickEy puts into his practice and he's asked him to spend some time in the Performance Class next week talking about how he does it. Everyone is welcome to stick around for this valuable lesson:

Want to know what it takes to dig deeper to master melodies, tones and effects created by the masters? Little Walter, Big Walter, Sonny Boys, your favorites and anyone in between. Organization and proven study techniques are the key.

Next Monday evening 5/20, Highway RickEy will be teaching a class on using audio slow down programs to organize your approach at mastering anything more thoroughly and faster than you ever have tried before. Learn how to discover and own any material. Learn how to use Section, Fragment and Phrase loops to master pieces.

Bonus IV chord study including class play along!

The two programs covered are Amazing Slow Downer and AudioStretch. There are free versions available for your mobile device.

Class Notes

  • You did NOT miss the YMM newsletter last week - the editor was gone fishin'! (Weather was good; fishing was so-so. Thanks for asking!)

Dennis Gruenling - Blues Music Award Winner!
Congrats to our buddy Dennis Gruenling for winning the Best Instrumentalist - Harmonica award at the Blues Music Awards this year!

photo: Laura Carbone


- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 567 #613)

Thanks again to the amazing Curtis Salgado for joining us in B1 last week!

Performances filled most of our time this week, but Joe did get the call and response practice pointed at 4 bar sustained chordal phrases. This makes for great accompaniment AND stretches your breathing chops. Work at this playing splits, rapid vamps, trills, dirty 4 draws.

Class Notes

  • New classes started this week but there's still time to register for classes! 
  • Come out next week to the Harlem Avenue Lounge Harp Party - May 7.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 566 #612)

Curtis Salgado!

Curtis Salgado came to B1 this week and it was an awesome evening with a packed house! It was fun to see everyone, including producer Dick Shurman!

Hailing from Eugene, OR, Curtis played in the Robert Cray band for 6 years, fronted Roomful of Blues for 3 years, played with Carlos Santana and has numerous blues music awards. He's an amazing vocalist but was hit with a cold this week, so he had to lay back on the singing. He did do a beautiful laid back version of Hoochie Coochie Man though!

Curtis started right off with the declaration that "There are no rules" when playing this "magical instrument", which tells you a lot about how he thinks and how much he loves the harp. He played a lot to demonstrate things, including periods that showed more about how he practices. He has a humble way about what he knows, eager to learn more from anyone and everyone around him. He even coaxed Joe up at one point to demonstrate a fast throat tremolo that he aspires to.

Asked who his favorite five harp players are, he chipped away at the list through the evening, but eventually named Paul deLay, clearly a close friend and mentor, Joe Filisko, James Cotton, George Smith, both Sonny Boys, Stevie Wonder...and maybe not official answers in his list, but it's clear he studies and learns from Little Walter and Walter Horton too.

When talking about "tone" he immediately equated tone with soul. Being locked in with a band and the groove is part of that; and dynamics is part of that for him too as he lamented monotone playing when he hears it.

Though he couldn't sing in his usual voice for us, talk did of course turn to the role of singing and he stressed that singing is super important. It's where the blues is for him because it's the human voice that moves you, that is emotional for the listener. And, well, as he also wryly noted, "the harp isn't going to pay the rent by itself."

It was a great evening in B1 - thanks to Curtis and everyone else who turned out. Check out his website and be sure to get out to the Otis Rush tribute show he's doing at SPACE Wednesday night.

Thanks, Curtis!

Class Notes

  • Time to register for classes! 
  • Mark your calendar for the next Harlem Avenue Lounge Harp Party - May 7.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew


Tuesday, April 16, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 565 #611)

Don't miss next Monday! 

Curtis Salgado visits B1 next week, April 22, and you'd better be there. It's ok if you're not registered for classes - if you're a friend of B1 and live in Chicagoland, come on out. Curtis played in the Robert Cray band, fronted the Roomful of Blues band and is a killer harp player and vocalist. Be there!

And for your practice inspiration this week, keep targeting that lucky number 9!


Class Notes

  • Time to register for classes! Next week is the last week of the session, so get yourself registered now.
  • Mark your calendar for the next Harlem Avenue Lounge Harp Party - May 7.

Blues Music Awards Nominees

Hohner is pleased to announce that they are now the sponsor for the Blues Music Awards' Instrumentalist - Harmonica Category.

Congrats to harp players Kim Wilson, Dennis Gruenling and Bob Corritore on their nomination!

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 564 #610)

It was time for a little accompaniment review last night. Joe outlined his five accompaniment techniques:

  • (train whistle) sustain - higher range of the chord; ok to be dissonant
  • organ sustain - no dissonance and the chords you play should match the chord changes of the song
  • hard shuffle chording (incl ghost chording) - the idea here is to blend in and be consistent with the drummer
  • chord bombs - played louder and with attitude like a horn section on beat 2
  • repeating riff - watch your volume on this and be sure you know it cold. 

Breathing conversation this week was back to the long exhale, inhale exercise, but with two refinements - when you reach empty, or full, pause and "hold" your breath there a short count. You should be comfortable at both points and not in a hurry to start the other direction. Get used to this! And secondly, be very careful that "holding" your breath does NOT mean closing off your throat. Keep open and relaxed!

Class Notes

  • Mark your calendar! B1 welcomes Curtis Salgado as a guest on April 22.

Mike Ledbetter Tribute Shows
The Nick Moss Band is organizing two benefit shows in Chicagoland for Mike Ledbetter. Mark your calendars and don't miss them - they promise to have some heavy-hitter harp players on them (ahem, Rick Estrin, Jason Ricci)

April 14 at Buddy Guy's Legends
April 15 Danny's On Douglas, Elgin

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 563 #609)

We got back to some call and response this week to put our new understanding of the 9 second breathing goal into action!

Class Notes

  • Mark your calendar! B1 welcomes Curtis Salgado as a guest on April 22.

Mike Ledbetter Tribute Shows

The Nick Moss Band is organizing two benefit shows in Chicagoland for Mike Ledbetter. Mark your calendars and don't miss them - they promise to have some heavy-hitter harp players on them (ahem, Rick Estrin, Jason Ricci)

April 14 at Buddy Guy's Legends
April 15 Danny's On Douglas, Elgin

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 562 #608)

More breathing.

Joe timed people inhaling and exhaling this week and urges everyone to practice! Watch a second hand and exhale a chordal effect like a split 4 or shake or trill for 10 seconds, then flip and do the same inhaling. Repeat over and over and do this every day.

The call and response showed people full of air after a 3+ second phrase so there is breathing control work to do. People are obviously not planning for what's coming. You should always start phrases with capacity for 9 seconds, even if that phrase turns out to be shorter.

Class Notes

  • Mark your calendar! B1 welcomes Curtis Salgado as a guest on April 22.

Mike Ledbetter Tribute Shows

The Nick Moss Band is organizing two benefit shows in Chicagoland for Mike Ledbetter. Mark your calendars and don't miss them - they promise to have some heavy-hitter harp players on them (ahem, Rick Estrin, Jason Ricci)

April 14 at Buddy Guy's Legends
April 15 Danny's On Douglas, Elgin

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Wee 561 #607)

Nine.

Joe timed peoples' exhale capability last week and observes that just about everyone can exhale for at least nine seconds. This means, we should all be equally capable of nine seconds of inhale...which is where blues horsepower resides. Nine seconds will get you through two bars of modest tempo tunes and you should be able to play phrases that long with strength, not wimping out and trailing off at the end. You should not be FULL of air and desperate at the end of a two-bar phrase. So if you are, you're not


  • efficiently dumping air, or...
  • you're not efficiently using the air you have because you're allowing air to come in through your nose, or
  • you're breathing in some even before you start your phrase. 

Probably all three! So practice breathe control; do some long inhale/exhale exercises to find your bottom and become more controlled in the flow of air. Play Taps and stretch the hold notes out as long as you can.

You need to be proactively working on and thinking about your breathing. Joe suggests this is analagous to a chess player needing to think ahead. Your playing needs this too.

Class Notes

  • Thanks to all who've registered for this session!

Mike Ledbetter Tribute Shows
The Nick Moss Band is organizing two benefit shows in Chicagoland for Mike Ledbetter. Mark your calendars and don't miss them - they promise to have some heavy-hitter harp players on them (ahem, Rick Estrin, Jason Ricci)

April 14 at Buddy Guy's Legends
April 15 Danny's On Douglas, Elgin

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 560 #606)

Breathing

Joe took time out from the call and response we've been doing to work on a problem he's seeing in players as they do this exercise - breath control.

You won't have that blues horsepower without having control of your breathing. Long, swooping blues phrases need to be legato and connected and can't end in a fizzle because you've run out of air. Deep, resonant tone on your chordal effects playing can't be pinched off and cut short because you don't have breath to carry them. And yes, second position blues playing, the core of what we do, is inhale playing, so you have to learn to start truly empty...and chances are very high you are not.

To prove it and help us connect better to full and empty, Joe timed us on a long exhale note. His reasoning is, most everyone could exhale for at least 8 seconds. And that's enough to do the inhale required for the two bar call and response work we've been doing. BUT you have to start empty.

Learn to find empty and be more comfortable there!

Class Notes

  • Thanks to all who've registered for this session!

Buddy Guy Is Keeping the Blues Alive

He's not a harp player, but he's a blues elder and this is a great dive into one of the last remaining greats. Thanks to Leo for tipping us off to this story.

Buddy Guy Is Keeping the Blues Alive, The New Yorker Magazine

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 559 #605)

Welcome to the new session at Old Town. Joe shared his BHP (Blues Horsepower) handout this week that ties to the call and response exercises we've been doing together. As he listens to players, he wants to emphasize that people need to focus on better throat tremolo across the board.

Joe also repeated that the deep bend on the four draw is in fact a slightly sharp version of the note you get on the four blow. It is extremely flat and gets close to that note so if you're watching your bend with a digital tool, you'll see it approaching the four blow.

Class Notes

  • New classes started this week. There's still time to register! And here's a discount code to save $15: LOVEOTS19
  • James Conway will be a special guest teaching Irish tunes in the Rhythm & Chording class Monday, March 11 at 2:30pm.

SPAH Registration Now Open
Registration is now open for the 2019 SPAH Convention to be held at the Tulsa Hyatt Regency in Tulsa, Oklahoma from August 13-17, 2019.

You can expect to enjoy all of your favorite events, including world class nightly performances, daily seminars, afternoon concerts, the Filisko Teach-in, and an exciting array of vendors demonstrating and selling harmonicas and other related products! The electric Blues Jam will be back again on Wednesday night, and there will be nightly acoustic jams for your favorite music genre! That should leave you a little time to sleep, if you are not playing music in the hallways with your old and new-found friends!

Details on the local tours, Saturday breakfast gatherings, and the like will be made available in May, as usual. For those of you who have not attended or have missed a few years, you can read more about a typical SPAH Convention experience here.

The Entertainment Committee has been working hard to bring you a diverse group of performers, from jazz and blues to Celtic, from diatonic and chromatic to harmonica trios!

Register now for the best price, and remember that current members receive a discount on the convention price!

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 558 #604)

Call and response moved to a box shuffle this week to help everyone find the downbeat of one better. Remember that mimicking Joe involves notes, tone, and technique but also timing.

Joe also announced that B1 will now have two amps with bullet mics every week. This is designed partly to make RickEy happy (he was not fond of the existing amp!) but also to allow for two harp players playing amplified. You should have an accompaniment and soloist plan when you play.
Class Notes

  • New classes start next week. Register now! And here's a discount code to save $15: LOVEOTS19
  • Thanks to everyone who came out to the Hoedown - it was a great show and Harmonicology has a lot to be proud of!
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 557 #603)

The Performance Class took a week off from call and response practice, but Joe did a recap:

  • This exercise highlights technique weaknesses.
  • It also makes clear any blues breathing weaknesses you may have. (Everybody struggles with this!)
  • And Joe announced there is a guidelines handout page coming soon!


Class Notes

  • TONIGHT: Harmonica Hoedown featuring Joe Filisko's Harmonicology, James Conway, Bob Kessler, Graham Nelson. Tuesday, February 19. Tickets.
  • Time to register for classes and here's a discount code to save $15: LOVEOTS19
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 556 #602)

B1 was rockin' with a lot of Walter Horton this week - versions of Walter's Boogie/Shakey's Boogie were on tap for a bunch of people and we also heard Honeydripper. We love us some Horton!

Class Notes

  • The Harlem Avenue Lounge Harp Party is TONIGHT! See you there for your chance onstage plus a full set from Joe's Harmonicology group who are prepping for next week's....
  • ...Harmonica Hoedown featuring Joe Filisko's Harmonicology, James Conway, Bob Kessler, Graham Nelson. Tuesday, February 19. Tickets.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 555 #601)

Julie's performance of Who's Been Talking took us to a short conversation about how that song does (or does not) fit into the blues. It is minor. On the other hand, it's a rumba, not a shuffle. No firm conclusion reached, but it was a good discussion.

Related, pop quiz! How many recorded Muddy Waters tunes are there that are minor blues?

(Heads up: we don't have the answer - it's meant to make you think.)

Class Notes

  • The Harlem Avenue Lounge Harp Party is Tuesday, February 12. 
  • Get your tickets NOW to the next Harmonica Hoedown featuring Joe Filisko's Harmonicology, James Conway, Bob Kessler, Graham Nelson. Tuesday, February 19. Tickets.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 554 #600)

Call and response learning continues and those who braved the cold got extra playing time last night. Stay warm, Chicago!

Class Notes

  • The next Harlem Avenue Lounge Harp Party is Tuesday, February 12. 
  • Get your tickets NOW to the next Harmonica Hoedown featuring Joe Filisko's Harmonicology, James Conway, Bob Kessler, Graham Nelson. Tuesday, February 19. Tickets.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 553 #599)

Joe worked with the class again on the practice of hearing him play a phrase and repeating it after him. He played in a rack this week to clear away any idea that tonal things you're hearing are coming from his one hand.

That said, we also segued to a hand-mic technique discussion and the light bulb went off for some. We'll be hearing better tone in class soon!

Class Notes

  • Mark your calendar - the next Harlem Avenue Lounge Harp Party is Tuesday, February 12. 
  • Get your tickets NOW to the next Harmonica Hoedown featuring Joe Filisko's Harmonicology, James Conway, Bob Kessler, Graham Nelson. Tuesday, February 19. Tickets.


- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 552 #598)

Fun class this week with Rie "Lee" Kanehira in from Japan playing keys with us. Always great to have you join us, Lee!

And cool to see Patrick drop in and play too. Remember, B1 LOVES guests, so come by anytime.

Class Notes

  • No news - practice, grasshopper!
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 551 #597)

Happy New Year!

Thinking about a Liban tune people in B1 have been doing lately Joe pointed out it is basically James Cotton in action. And Cotton's playing is pure blues scale and sound.

To get people focused on blues scale and the heavy sounds blues harp players want to be playing, Joe kicked off the year with some live "rapid recall" exercises. He played a phrase repeatedly then went around the room letting each person duplicate what they heard.  A key learning is that better breathing is your foundation and folks coming up short on the phrase repetition were usually suffering breathing trouble. Joe also stressed the importance of avoiding the unbent three draw.

Watch for more of this live rapid recall in all classes in the coming weeks.

Class Notes

  • Register now! There's still time (and room) to get registered for this session at Old Town. 
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew