MUSIC AND LESSONS
MUSIC:
LESSONS:
Modern Blues Harmonica Advanced Beginner's Special
For beginning players who have completed the first handful of lessons on my website (most of which can be found in the "Beginner's Special" and "Beginner's Deluxe," above) and are ready to commit to the next step, here is a bargain: six video tutorials with the tab sheets thrown in for free. The lessons in this collection continue your education into the world of blues harmonica by teaching you a range of ways of moving through the 12-bar changes--the "blues progression." These include a boogie-woogie (Bittersweet Boogie), a melody drawn from a vocal line (Same Old Blues), a jazzy melody that deliberately breaks across the bar lines (Whistlin' the Blues), a two-beat stomp that uses double stops and chords (Red Dress), a simplified version of a Chicago blues standard (Mojo 1.0), and a rock classic (Rock Around the Clock). There is a method in Gussow's madness! These songs socialize you into the wide and wonderful world of blues musicianship, even as they develop your lip-strength, coordination, and reflexes.
PLEASE NOTE: All these songs are demonstrated using a key of C harmonica, except for Mojo 1.0, which uses a key of A harmonica.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: You do NOT need to know how to bend notes in order to play these songs. This is why they are appropriate for beginners and advanced beginners.
Chicago Blues Classics
For INTERMEDIATES and ADVANCED INTERMEDIATES who want a selection of the best that the Chicago blues tradition has to offer, I've bundled five video tutorials into an easy-to-download zip file, with the tab sheets thrown in for free. Included in this package are Sonny Boy Williamson/Junior Wells ("Checking Up on my Baby"), Junior Wells ("Messing With the Kid"), Big Walter Horton ("Easy"), Paul Butterfield ("Born in Chicago"), and Little Walter/Kim Wilson ("Got My Mojo Working"), all for only $25, a savings of $10 off the item-by-item price.
"Harmony for Improvisation": For blues harmonica students in the BEGINNER and ADVANCED BEGINNER category who seek some basic grounding in harmony that will strengthen their understanding of the instrument and improve their abilities as improvisers. INTERMEDIATE players who have neglected this element of their musical education may also find this lesson useful. This zip file includes one QuickTime video plus one jam track in the key of G. There is NO tab sheet with this lesson.
Harp: C
"Tongue Blocking I": An introduction to one of the key techniques for blues harmonica players--the one that gives you the "big sound," including octaves, splits (such as the 25 draw), counter-rhythms, and a range of textural effects.
Harp key: C
"Eight-Bar Blues Progressions": For ADVANCED BEGINNERS through ADVANCED INTERMEDIATES. Although 80-85% of recorded take the 12-bar form, another 5-10% are 8-bar blues. What most players don't realize is that there are three different kinds of 8-bar blues. This lesson explains all that, using recorded examples from 14 blues songs by players like Little Walter, Sonny Terry, and Otis Spann.
"Adam's PowerHarp Groove": This is my own personal workout--an original 12-bar instrumental designed to tone and energize INTERMEDIATE and ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE players. There is NOTHING on the harmonica instructional market quite like this: not Barrett, not Gage, not Portnoy, not even the great and powerful Gindick can match the power-to-weight ratio of this top-fuel juggernaut!
"Ending the Blues": a study guide to the challenging art of ending a 12-bar blues song well. This lesson consists of ten (10) different two-bar endings, drawn from Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Walter Horton, Nat Riddles, Jason Ricci, and my own recordings. INTERMEDIATE / ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE.
"John Lee Hooker's Boogie Blues": For ADVANCED BEGINNERS through ADVANCED INTERMEDIATES. This driving shuffle is my original composition, in the Hook's familiar "Boom Boom Boom Boom!" style. Check out the preview.
"Help Me": This is arguably Sonny Boy Williamson's best-known song--a harmonica blues staple of blues bands and jam sessions the world over. An amazing amount of harmonica knowledge is packed into this 12-bar solo: warbles, angular triplets, chuck-chuck accents. For INTERMEDIATE and ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE players.
"What'd I Say": Ray Charles's 1959 soul classic, adapted for harmonica. This 12-bar blues with a funky rock beat is a whole new way of holding down the changes. It uses tongue blocking and some kickstart timing to create a driving groove. This is NOT the same old Chicago blues groove! For INTERMEDIATES and ADVANCED INTERMEDIATES.
