When you seek blues harp lessons on the internet, it doesn’t take too long before you come across Adam Gussow who for over 3 years now has taught so many of us tips and tricks on playing the blues harp through his nifty 10 minute lessons on Youtube. Although he has always previously claimed that he doesn’t sing he has now produced an album called ‘Kick And Stomp’ which is solo all the way just beat  and some really neat question and answer between the vocal and the harmonica. The album tracks are as follows:

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First Position Jamming Can Be Entertaining ….

When starting out on the harmonica it pays to practise jamming to a diverse number of classics. So many beginners give up in frustration because they cannot bend a note and the harmonica is put down as one of those I tried it once experiences. Alternatively they manage a couple of bends after a while and get bored of everything sounding samey ‘da da da duh’ followed by ‘Woke up this morning… etc.’. Also they hear the perfection of ‘Blues’ or ‘Country’ harmonica masters and despair of ever being or sounding original. Here is the inspirational cure.

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A Harmonica Solo And Much More

After a leave of absence this fantastic solo by Sonny Boy Williamson is back on youtube.

One of the first riffs which inspired me to learn blues harp was ‘You Gotta Help Me’ as recorded by Sonny Boy Williamson the piece is in the key of ‘F”, so you will need a diatonic harmonica in the key of ‘Bflat’. John Mayall’s blues breakers also recorded this.

This piece is also a classic example of a riff loop which constantly cycles with Sonny Boy diving in and out of the loop to solo when required. If you can learn how to go back in and out of the loop your playing will sound far more rhythmical to the listener. During the solos you can hear the precision with which the tremolo effect is applied to the notes. Every time I hear this piece I always hear something different. This makes the piece a harmonica riff classic for me.