[Harp-L] "Chicago Style" Blues Harmonica Workshop in Brooklyn, NY

[Zvi Aranoff <zviaranoff@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello all.

Hope you've had a good beginning of 2008.

This year will be great for the club, with more workshops, meetups and  
lots of harp playin'. So stay tuned!

As you all know, in our upcoming meeting, Jan 13, 4pm, Eugene Plotnick  
will grace us with a workshop.

Here's an outline of the workshop, and what you'll need to bring.

Workshop title : "Chicago Style" Blues Harmonica: Some Things You Need  
to Know

Outline:
I.  The language of the Blues
     A. Phrases
     B. Patterns
     C. Bass Lines

II. Advice on Tone and how to build it

III.  Listen, Listen, Listen - comments on the art of listening

IV. Swingin' the Blues:  Tackling Little Walter's "Off the  
Wall"  (This is in the key of G using a C diatonic harmonica in second  
position).

The goal of this workshop is for players to come away with important  
tools to help them listen to, practice, and ultimately play blues  
music on the harmonica. The workshop is designed so that players of  
just about every level will be able to get something out of it.

To start with, Gene will play two or three tunes with guitar  
accompaniment to get warmed up with the music.  After that, we'll get  
"hands on" - for each instructional item, he'll demonstrate it,  
explain it and then go around the room asking each player to try it.   
He will give constructive criticism for each individual. He'll show  
how these lessons are to be applied in making actual music.  There  
will be hand out materials to give to each participant.  Players will  
be able to ask questions.

When we get to the analysis of "Off the Wall", he will break it down  
into digestible parts and hand out tablature notation.  It's a great  
piece of music that sounds harder to play than it actually is.  Even  
if players can't master "Off the Wall" in this one workshop, they will  
come away with enough knowledge to keep them busy practicing it - 
practicing it productively- on their own.

Everyone should bring at minimum diatonic harmonicas in the keys of C  
and A.   It would be good to have harmonicas in other keys as well, if  
they have them.  Any brand is okay.

Accompanying Gene will be Rich "Filthy Rich" MacPherson who plays with  
Steve Guyger (earlier we indicated Rich Yescalis; this is an error).

We hope you can all make it!

Yours as always,

Zvi