School of the Blues

Congrats to all of the students that performed at Saturday's Fall Student Concert, it was a great show!

My interview for the Musical-U podcast has just released. Musical-U focuses on intuitive learning and improvising, making for some interesting interview questions. You can listen to the podcast here: http://musl.ink/pod108

Hello FaceBook friends and fellow harmonica players my family can use your help! We are hosting Ri from Thailand this year. She has been the perfect host daughter, sister, granddaughter, friend, cousin, niece, etc. We are sad to see her go, but hope to be reunited again! We entered a contest, and the winner gets a reunion trip. If you could help out by voting, we would be so thankful! And feel free to pass this along http://reellife.afsusa.org/contest/3/entry/877 To vote, fo...llow these 3 easy steps: 1) Open my entry. The link is above 2) Vote. Click the blue "Vote Now" button on the entry page and you'll be asked to enter your email address. To ensure a fair voting process, a verification link will be sent to the email address you provide. (If you don't see the email, check your spam folder!) You can also vote with your social media account, just make sure you are logged in. (If you vote this way, you won't receive a validation email and your vote will count immediately.) 3) Confirm. Click on the link in your email and your vote will be counted. It's as simple as that! *You can vote once a day (24 hours must pass) and from multiple email addresses. Thank You! David and Sharon See more

Studio Recording for the Harmonica Workshop (12/2 or 2/10) Though titled Studio Recording for the harmonica, we’ll be covering much more in this class. We’ll start with live performance, specifically: the correct choice of amplifier (size); different tactics on how to set up your rig (to be heard); how to sound check (not getting drowned out by the band); and mic yourself to be heard (actually mic placement tactics). We’ll then move into the main focus of this classrecordi...ng! We’ll start with personal recording (how to achieve a good sound with something as simple as an iPhone), then to home recording (how to set up your own inexpensive home studio), and then finally how to achieve a killer recorded tone in the studio. We’ll be recording into the industry-standard software Pro Tools, both acoustic and amplified. Students will have the opportunity to play a couple of licks in our recording session (not mandatory, but if you would like to, we’ll be doing it!) and see how a studio engineer adds equalization, effects and fixes errors in a performance. I’ll show you the recording process, from start to finish, so when it comes time to do your project, you’ll be better prepared to get in and let the magic happen! This class is for all skill level players. Dates: 12/2 or 2/10. Time: 10:30am-5pm. Location: School of the Blues at 5328 Monterey Hwy, Ste D, San Jose, CA. Cost is $125 and class size is limited to 10 students. 12/2 - Register: https://squareup.com//studio-recording-for-the-harmonica-d 2/10 - Register: https://squareup.com//studio-recording-for-the-harmonica-f

On 11/18 I'll be conducting a workshop at School of the Blues (San Jose, CA) on Little Walter's approach to the diatonic harmonica. In this class I’ll share his most well-known recordings; speak of his importance in history; teach the key elements to his rhythmic approach (both chording and general use of syncopation to give his music the swing quality it has and rhythmic drive); and some of his most famous songs (Evan’s Shuffle, Juke, Off The Wall, Blue Midnight, etc.). The songs I cover I’ll provide transcriptions for you to study after the class. Class times are 10:30am to 5:00pm. Cost is $150 and class size is limited to 10 students. I have two spots left. If you would like to attend, please PM me.

Another School of the Blues student concert goes into the history books... great job tonight everyone! Thank you Poor House Bistro for supporting these up-and-coming blues musicians.

Anyone interested in owning a very clean example of an early Hohner Marine Band harmonica (about 100 years old), I have one from my private collection on eBay ending late tonight http://www.ebay.com/itm/122727435903

For those interested in teaching harmonica, and have completed Levels of Achievement Level 6 at BluesHarmonica.com, a series of instructor training videos is now on the site for you to work through. This material consists of topics such as choosing a teaching location, teaching days and times, fees, how to assess where a student starts in their training, and training for you on how to help students with technique at advancing levels. I also provide templates for you to use in your teaching and discounts for your students to access BluesHarmonica.com. If you’ve completed LOA-L6, drop me a note and I’ll send you a link to the material. For those interested in teaching, get started on your journey by going through the LOA program at https://www.bluesharmonica.com/levels-of-achievement

Thanks to Connor James Frontera for the fun interview https://soundcloud.com//harp-house-episode-22-tim-gonzalez

Great job everyone at the rehearsal today. I'm looking forward to hearing you and seeing your family and friends at the Fall Student Concert (Poor House Bistro 6-9:30pm) on 10/7!