Blues Harmonica Secrets Revealed (Gussow.005)

[pasqualebrow1230]

This video is a favorite on Montevideo

[skywardism]

You are truly a great musician. Thanks for all the inspiration

[russmassey615]

This video went viral on Lome

[chrisdavies23359]

Why not a tutorial for complete beginners, there areen't any good ones out there.

[dale0swenson]

I'm very excited to use your videos to learn harmonica. I've been playing bass guitar forever and want to try something different. I just watched this lesson and cannot for the life of me to figure out where some of the notes are that you obviously are playing. I'm using a Bb harp. You must be bending one of the reeds but which ones?

[Whatsisname3529]

I tried to order your Kick and Stomp album but it didn't give me the option to ship to APO or DPO addresses.

[skywardism]

I'm so glad you use a B flat. It was my first harp by accident ! Cheers

[snoookie456]

@skywardism lol... I use an A one XD

But it helps, cause I have Realtek Audio Manager, which has kind of a transpose function... so I just drop it to -1 and it's like he's playin in A XD

[PutaMadreproductions]

Hi Adam, thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge. It's priceless. My question is: have you ever had any mouth or teeth problems because of the endless playing?

answers from fellow players are welcome too

[KudzuRunner]

@PutaMadreproductions: Definitely. My teeth are fine, but I've certainly had my share of fever blisters, cold sores, and the like. One of my incisors occasionally digs into the inside of my cheek, thanks to my hand-grip, and creates sores. I have four words for serious harp players: Burt's Bees lip balm!

[terr3nce]

@KudzuRunner Oh yeah, love the cold sores :)

[TheBoBeRkO]

on what harmonica is he playing?



[hohner2010]

thanks adam, i have found out this morning it was my computer i needed to upgrade some flash player or something, so all i got to do now is fine my bank card .... cheers again

[hohner2010]

Hi adam it's cain, iv tried to download a few pages and videos from your website as you have some sonny williamson tracks in one package. but does the download work on windows vista , because it say's apple? on the description so does this mean for the APPLE MAC ? if it does is it possible to have the sonny williamson tab { any of them you have } and JUKE and put these in a package so i may perchase them from you. i have had trouble watching the clips are they the same as on youtube or longer.

[KudzuRunner]

@hohner2010: I have many, many customers who download using Windows Vista, so I'm sure that's not a problem. As for the tabs and lessons themselves: I don't create custom packages for individual customers, but you should be able to "add to cart" when you go to tradebit to buy my stuff, so you shouldn't be inconvenienced.

[zardozica]

A C harp will sound higher, not different. you need to have a good ear to copy in a different key.

[fifstone79]

I am trying this on my c harp and still don't get it sounds totally different, plas of course i think the motes are kinda f@##..

Oh well i will go to buy a Bb flat!!!!..However thanks for the lesson Adam!!!

[DocSixString]

hey adam, love your stuff man.

Question:why do you play a Bb harp? cause im a guitarist and of all the keys to play blues in, F isn't the easiest. Couldn't you just play an A harp for E blues? Or did Mr Satan (...the guitarist...) tune up a semitone or use a capo or did you just tell him to play in F. Maybe you prefer the feel of a Bb harp or maybe Mr Satan's vocal range suits F blues??

Sorry about all the questions... just love music and am interested!!

[KudzuRunner]

Two reasons:

1) When I started my video series, I happened to have a great Bb harp on hand. I decided to go with it.

2) I wanted to be different. This series was NOT for guitar players! Nor was it for beginners who would only have a C harp on hand. It was designed--and I noted this in my channel description on Day 1--for intermediate harp players who had "tried the rest," so to speak.

[revf]

Hey what does the asterisk mean in the harp tab notations that are available to complement these lessons?

[meatpackingdistrict]

There's this percussive sound that gets into the microphone like at every bar or every two bars. It doesn't get a tone out of the harp, but it becomes a rhythm element, keeps the music going. Sounds really cool! Do we ever talk about that?

[KudzuRunner]

Great point, and you're right: that's the stuff that often doesn't get notated yet makes all the difference. I'm hitting my tongue percussively against the roof of my mouth to make those sounds. Tuh!!

[casu3]

@KudzuRunner playin fake tongue block its harder than actually play tongue block rigth? i try to fake the tongue slap and its the hardest thing to do. for me lip pursing its much harder than tongue blockin. what make you decide to stick to it?

[gosiawoodman]

He has the lovely vibrato......it's in his voice isn't it? It isn't a tongue thing I don't think.

[gosiawoodman]

I agree, that 2 hole bend is a real challenge. I am up for the challenge though.

This harmonica playing is addictive, I have four now.

Gussow, Ricci and the like must have dozens eh?

[Gaudentic]

practice make the master. remember that.

[tewright77]

Adam, that bend on the 2 hole draw was the most challenging thing for me. I was able to bend the 2 if i was on it but going from the one hole into a 2 hole bend was rough.

Eventuallly i got it and now it comes easier. is it me just doing this right, or can the harp get broken in which leads to an easier bend? or both? :-)

Thanks for passing your knowledge on!!!

[macschomo]

Went out and bought me a harp. ThanX a lot for your lessons!!!

[jasoninblackpool]

Hello Adam,

Thankyou for all of your lessons. You are a superb teacher.

I have watched you so much that I feel as if I have known you for years !

Keep up the good work.

Hows the family?

Best wishes,

Jason

Jason Kenyon. Blackpool, England

[arcadiandelsol]

curious: would you say these vids are geared towards good players looking to become great players?

I ask because Im a lousy player looking to become good. :P

[KudzuRunner]

See the channel description. They're geared towards good players hoping to get better. They're certainly not geared towards beginners. If you've been playing for a while but not really improving, they'll surely answer some important questions.

[smaxwell1966]

Adam - I went back to this lesson because I cant figure out how are you doing the chord Gliss (for lack of the proper term) at 1:38 / 1:45 / 1:51 etc...I am trying 234 draw - gliss up to 456 draw , 456 blow, down to 234 draw, but it just doesn't sound like yours...I'm missing some "microtonal inflection" somwhere and not gettin it dialed in. Are you bending the chord or something? ,maybe sound different because your playing electric? Help appreciated.Thanks Adam!

[KudzuRunner]

I'm hitting a tongueblocked 25 draw, mostly getting the 5; TB 14 draw (mostly 4); lip pursed 34 draw (mostly 3, with blue third bend); then lip pursed 2 draw.

[smaxwell1966]

Thanks!

[Clarky3009]

Great Adam, probaly my favourite track from CD. - Al

[stevehello2u]

Man, I loved your book

[billman2112]

Thanks!

[luizzfar]

Hey Adam!

Thanks for the great talk about the blue third!

But you hijacked the lesson and didn't come back at Unlucky in Love.

Do you think it would be possible to talk about it again? I know it has passed a long time but this song is very very cool!

Thank you!

[bredog1]

I second that ..another lesson on Unlucky would be great!

[kiwibluesqueen]

Hi Adam loved what you were teaching, but you didn't explain how you got that beat box thing you where adding, left me wanting to know how he did that :-)

[KudzuRunner]

Hohner Marine Band. See the very first item on the FAQs page at my website, Modern Blues Harmonica.

[TBeanIV]

what brand harps do you use?

and also i would like to thank you for all the help

[Zdravko7]

does it have to do anything with the harp??

i'm using a Bb Hohner J.J. Milteau Deep Blues harp,

should I be able to bend the 2 draw a whole step on it??

thank you!

[KudzuRunner]

You should absolutely be able to bend the 2 draw a whole step. It's a basic and extremely important thing to be able to do. I've got a video tutorial at Modern Blues Harmonica (dot) com called "Bending the 2 Draw." You can master this!

[Zdravko7]

oh man.. how the hell do you bend the 2 draw like that...

i understand the 3 draw bend release while drawing more air, although i got to work on that as well, but that 2 draw bend is just not human:))

[14tq]

can you procure the text of this song?? please i love it!

[kUSHGUITAR]

Hello Sir,

You make your Hamonica Sound like a Saxophone. Just wanted to request you to kindly let me know which Harp you're using and how do you get that Sax tone.

Thanks for the wonderful lesson !

Lots of Regards

Kush

[djhijinx]

You're right. It sounds really funky. Diggin' it.

[NoblezadaXfan]

ok adam because of this video i bought ur living on the river album on i tunes and i haft to say u guys where the best blues band i ever heard dont mean to flater u to much but i can help it lol anyway thanks once again you've taught me everything i know i am now an apprentice of mr satans apprentice =) hope to meet u some day if u ever catch urselfe comein to tulsa oklahoma let me know we can jam alongtogeather with my friend brian hes a guitar player and can play some mean blues

-adam summitt

[ezekeniel]

Hi Adam, love your videos. I'm a guitar player with a temporarily strained left hand. I had to do something to keep the music fix so in came the harmonica several months ago. I am an advanced beginner according to your website. I practice alot! I feel I can bend alright but these 2 and 3 hole draw half tone bends are rough. Any further advice or specific videos on this? If not, I'll have fun practicing anyway. Thanks again. Your videos make not being able to play guitar suck alot less!Awesome!

[fredrider51]

hi adam

fred here 56 from philly i been to gindicks camp i still need lots of work but it was lots of fun... i have not beat at all....i want to try and tell how to bend though on 2 and 3 holes.... on 2 hole say u or tuuuu on the first bend on the 2nd bend say o or tooooo that is both holes but the last bend on the 3 hols say a or taaaaa hope this helps anyone

peace

fred from philly

[jonnyburr]

Hi Adam, I'm a player who's gigged, taught and recorded many times. I have to add my thanks to all the other people here. It's a real pleasure to hear your thoughts (and playing!)

[MisterPignose]

Good analogies on the blue third half step bend.

[illegalusername]

I've been watching these and tried to toot along with my Hohner A harp. I think my neighbors are ready to evict me :D

Great lessons! Maybe i'll be able to play without getting things thrown at me someday.

[KudzuRunner]

Great post!  I'm doing good work when I get you so psyched that you annoy the heck out of your neighbors.

[SKrizal]

Hi Adam! You have put up some great videos here! Thank you for that. I just started playing harmonica and I bought a Hohner Bluesharp 'E'.

Can you recommend some songs I could play with this key? I'm a really big fan of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. I played a little Midnight Rambler and that is a truly amazing song.

Keep up the great work m8!

[TheFanHead2]

to play beatles songs such as 'love me do' you need a chromatic harp in the key of C

[GOZOLIN]

i think that john used C and G diatonic harps in 'love me do'.

G-harp when he plays the solo part.

[anon540]

Chromatic harmonicas aren't made in specific keys. They play all notes, thus the name "Chromatic."

[illegalusername]

3 months later and i'm slowly but surely getting better. I learned to play High and Lonesome and it's an instant hit at parties.

[blackflair]

Thanks Adam for all these videos! The music is so wonderful sometimes I forget I'm watching a lesson and just enjoy the music! I'm totally new to the harp...though I did play trumpet in H.S. this is a totally different beast! Could you give a pointer or two on how to bend notes? I've been playing for over a month and haven't got the slightest hint of a bend. Thanks again!

[KudzuRunner]

See the last item on the FAQs page of my website, modernbluesharmonica dot com. I believe I offer a link

[ttcloud9]

Just a note of thanks, Adam!

[boxcok]

Good day adam...What do you use to keep your harp's hygienic. It seems that since I've been learning (approx 1 month) I've had gut's ache.Please keep giving us these terrific lessons.

[lepirate96]

Bonjour,

you are the most talented teacher I have ever listen too

I just love your lessons

Thanks a million for sharing your huge talent

alain

[Kontson]

I double that, very helpful

[maurobettega]

Do you mind please poting the harp tabs for "Unlucky in Love", Im really having trouble with that tune, wich by the way, is great.

[jedijoe420]

adam

thanks for the lessons..they are huge! you are an awesome player! Legendary!

Joe

[mastading]

man.. I got a brand new Golden Melody M. Hohner's harmonica, brand new and I can't play the second note on that song. the bend is hard. do you have any suggestion for me?

[Heafura]

Fantastic stuff Adam! How do you get that percussive pah! sound between each line of melody?

[KudzuRunner]

It's a percussive cough, I think. Jr. Wells does a lot of this. I never consciously strove for this, but neither did I edit it out. My body somehow evolved this technique as a way of keeping breath in equilibrium and expressing intensity at the same time.

[Fredhissink]

Hey Adam!!

Just bought a Lee Oskar in G (a lot of bluegrass songs are played in G); want to play folk (bluegrass) besides my five string banjo. I discovered you lessons and they are GREAT! I learned some techniques when I was a kid, so pickin'it up with you is perfect!! Gonna work trough you lessons and then move on the play Foggy Mountain Breakdown on the harp!

Fred Hissink, the Netherlands

[Woistalibaba]

"Kick Ass" harp line Adam! I've watched nearly all your youtube lessons in their entire lengths. Got hooked. The personality you give your lessons by how you present them is what makes me come back even more than the sheer interest in learning new things on the little 10 hole diatonic. GREAT...GREAT...GREAT!

[TYSOHN]

Does 5 draw bend on Bb?

[WhitePaws]

When I draw on hole 3 and move my tongue backwards I notice that there's a difference in pitch. I wonder If I'm really bending.

And even if I am, I only manage the get a little bit deeper. Not much.

[hithazel]

Put the camera up higher.

[capcrusader10]

So what is the difference between a 2 hole draw anda 3 hole blow? Ability to bend?

[KudzuRunner]

Yes, plus the ability to alternate the note with chords in useful ways.

[caveman1113]

Adam, I learned more from this one video than all 4 previous. Thanks for going into such detail on the 4 note variations that can come from the 3 hole draw. Thanks too for showing how you are articulating the notes so well. It seems simple, but that's only so if it's already learned. I can actually make my little "A" harp sound blues-ey now!! Cool!!

[KudzuRunner]

Well, I'm glad that SOMETHING I said was useful.

[nwvkxc]

i found that dropping my jaw while inhaling helps a lot when first starting.

[silkcastles]

some great videos here. was wandering though, are you able to bend on any sort of harmonica? i just bought a marine hohner C, and cant seem to figure it out.

[kokoro86]

I find a Special 20 to be easier to bend, but many blues artists bend quite nicely with the marine band..To bend, you're probably gonna wanna start with a c harp, and maybe try a 1 hole draw bend, and I think you'll find the sound, then recognize the feel, and deepen it. Also, jam that harp in your mouth. No "Old Maid's Mouth" lol...

[dandarion]

i've some issues with bend, do you teach it on a later video or is it something you just can't teach ?

[ilovecereal371]

Bending is extremely hard to explain because it has to do with tongue shape and it's really hard to show. I think many people find it similar to changing pitch in whistling, but I can't whistle well. The best way to get the bend is just to experiment with different tongue shapes and when you get it you'll know. Then you just keep practicing it and it'll get easier and better

[gobling5235]

tabs (4/8 signature)

/=bar line ; `= tact ; 2- = draw on 2nd hole ;

3-*= draw-bend half tone down on 3rd hole ;

2-** draw-bend full one tone down on the 2nd hole

`` 1- 2-** 1- 2-**/ 2- ` 3-* 4  2-/ ` 2- 3-* 2- 3-* /2- ` 2-** 1- 2-** 2-/

[Erikjr21]

dang, that was to informative my head is going to explode lol

[blueman1048]

Adam, I've been watching YouTube for a year or two and never bothered signing up. The only reason I just did was to post this thank you for not only all you have offered but for the outstanding way you offered it. You're a born teacher, not to mention a great harp player. Hope to see you perform sometime. Thanks

[KudzuRunner]

Thanks. I'll post an advisory at some point about where I'll be performing. I'm doing a number of things during the first three weeks of June, east of the Mississippi.

[hockeylvn]

ever get out to the los angeles area?

[KudzuRunner]

You know, Satan and Adam only played there once--a harp blowoff back in '96, I think, at House of Blues LA. Johnny Dyer and James Harman were on the bill.

[dhavalkparmar]

Adam this is great, just want to thank you for your great work.

[1seesaw2]

Adam, I've been playing a harp for almost 50 years and I have enjoyed your lessons. You are a good teacher and convey your thoughts in a very understandable manner. Keep it up and thanks.

[3cav]

Absolutely fantastic instruction or as we say here in Australia "you bloody ripper" I hope you never tire of passing on these tips, I am finally getting some nice tone out of my playing, thanks

[KudzuRunner]

Glad I was able to help. Just remember: once you've mastered them, pass these tips along.

[12barz]

Great teaching and really fun.  Hope you never get bored doing this. Love the "free form style. You're right. A little bit of structure keeps us from scraping stuff off our shoes, but too much strangles the spirit. Thanks.

[KudzuRunner]

Eloquent in your praise, all of you, and much too generous. Thanks.

[eugeneryan]

I take my hat off to you Mr Gussow for giving this stuff away. I haven't seen anyone else showing the embouchure opening and closing to get that percussive snap - although it's often done of course (I do it myself :)). That's a killer melody on this vid. Fair play to ya.

[BlindBob1]

Altho the lessons are sorta 'disjointed' and, I don't mean to be mean, yow are passing along some great information. This one especially is most enlightening. I will continue to watch and learn. Thanks Adam....

[KudzuRunner]

Yeah, disjointed is fair; I prefer to use the term "free form." But you're right: they're loose, improvisational, and that is basically my intent. When I thought about the way in which I learned, and the prototypical "blues transmission experience" in which the older black bluesman played a song or two, made a couple of gnomic comments, maybe took a drink, pulled the young adept along to the gig, whatever, I realized that there's a real danger in over-rationalizing all this stuff.

[airmojo]

That was excellent! I think most of those views were from me yesterday and today! More! More! More! Thanks Adam!

[harpgear]

This was my favorite so far! Keep it up. Thanks.