San Jose, California 2008 Harmonica Masterclass Workshop
Pictures & Participant Testimonials

This San Jose class focused on the masters of blues harmonica. Over the three days players studied: Big Walter Horton, Little Walter, James Cotton, Junior Wells, George "Harmonica" Smith, John Lee Williamson, Rice Miller and Paul Butterfield. The four core instructors were: David Barrett, Joe Filisko, Dennis Gruenling and Kinya Pollard. Guest artists were: Gary Smith, Andy Just, Mark Hummel, Sonny Jr. and Rusty Zinn. Below are comments and pictures from the students. Thanks to student Maurice Thaler (www.mtphrames.com) for the pictures below.

“The instructors are all master blues harp players, gifted communicators, kind teachers, who made everyone at every level a better player. It was soulful, a lot of fun, with first timers and old timers all ready to come back again. Sign me up for next year!” Dennis Low

“A standing ovation to the staff and teachers at the 2008 Legends of the Blues Workshop. Your fantastic team and well-planned courses have provided me with knowledge I can use right now to improve my playing. The program content went beyond my expectations in clearing up many of the mysteries surrounding the harmonica. Your program is today's guiding light to understanding the players, the music and the many facets of the worlds greatest instrument.” John Deely

“I found the class absolutely packed with useful information. All instructors were fantastic harp players and terrific instructors with lots of experience in both. The workshop exceeded my expectations... I am leaving very inspired to continue to improve.” Jay Stanley

“As much as I enjoyed last year’s workshops, I enjoyed this one even more. I appreciated the opportunity to really focus on master harp players I’m interested in, learning more about them, their technique, signature licks, and choice of songs with transcriptions. I feel confident I can add some of what I learned to my playing soon with practice.” John Lee

“Without question these workshops are the most valuable and instructional thing I have experienced in my journey as a harmonica student. The time each instructor has given to his craft is immediately obvious; as is their dedication to harmonica instruction. I walked out of this weekend a better, more informed player than when I walked in.” Sherwyn Solomon

“The workshop was a full emersion experience. All the instructors were totally accessible and the teaching styles varied enough so that whatever your learning style might be, you could not come away from the workshop without being greatly enriched.” Maurice Thaler

“I would recommend these classes to anyone wanting to break through to a higher level with their playing. This class has far surpassed my expectations.” Kevin D. Hagerty

“I’ve been a professional educator for 28 years, with a large part of that training other educators on how to teach. Typically at workshops you have phenomenal artists who don’t teach well. This is not the case with David Barrett and his Harmonica Masterclass Workshop. These workshops are well worth the expense and time.” Rich Shepler

“As a relative ‘newbie’ this was the most inspirational event in my harp playing/learning to date. Great instruction, fascinating historical background into the greats and a listening treat. Now… lots to work on before I come back next year.” Hank Stefaniak

“David and his very talented staff literally overwhelm you with an intense and well organized bonanza of useful information, training and some very handy facts. It could take you a year to digest it all. Additionally, chances to participate on the bandstand with working musicians and a supermarket of available products make the Harmonica Masterclass Workshop a very rewarding experience. Darrell Lee

“This was my second HMW, and it was every bit as fun and useful as my first. I am a fairly experienced player [George is modest… he’s a great player] and have taken private lessons with David Barrett, but I learned new things from Dave, and, of course, from the other instructors, each of whom bring their own individual approaches to the music and instruction. It’s also a great privilege to be able to hear instructors—all of them incredible harp players—perform in an intimate setting. Then you get to ask them how they did it! Great stuff.” George Bisharat

“This is my second year of attendance. I came in expecting a lot and I got it. Lot’s of great info and fabulous instructors. I own a music store and encourage my harmonica customers to get the Mel Bay David Barrett Series… I think that it is the best blues method I have seen distributed, this workshop is a great supplement to it. The panel discussion was a fantastic insight into the players.” Danny White

“A short weekend gave me a light-year advance in technique, tone and rhythm.” Lloyd Garren

“I have been coming to the Masterclass for several years—Austin, Newark and the last two in San Jose. I have enjoyed all of my experiences. You guys are very approachable and friendly and made me feel at ease, I have made this experience my trip to Mecca every year to push me forward and keep learning and growing and it really works.” David Hopson

“Extremely rewarding experience musically and educationally. I have a much better understanding now what it takes to get good. Extraordinary musicianship exhibited by guest musicians and instructors. All very interesting, entertaining and provided music insight. I’m inspired to go home now and practice, practice, practice!” Toby Nady

“I came here wanting to improve my sound and I got a lot more that improving my tone. I’ve learned a whole new style of playing the harmonica. I know my band members will appreciate it. Now I need to go home and practice, practice and practice some more. I know how to better my harp playing. Thanks again.” Jimbo Nakama

“The HMW provides access to the world’s top instructors/players and more than enough insights and study materials to last a lifetime! Any level of player could attend the HMW and put much more “B” into their blues!” Michael “MC” Cox

“Top Notch! No better harp school on the planet!” C Funai

“Learning music is a combination of private time and group interaction. The HMW encourages personal commitment with the best group interaction short of private lessons. In fact, HMW is a great complement to individual instruction, bringing together students of all levels in a supportive and encouraging environment.” John Rafferty

“Dave organizes his camps in a masterful way. He intuitively assembles a superb and unique blend of coaches which ensures that all participants’ learning styles are catered to throughout the weekend—brilliant!!! A truly professional team that will give you goose bumps many times over the three days. Not to be missed if you love music!” Christian Hillier

“Barrett brings the ‘A Team’ to the ‘Legends’ format. Both the instructors and the guest artists are, literally, world-class. If you don’t walk away from this workshop with your harp heart pounding, then you probably want to call your cardiologist!” John Birdsall

”David, I would like to thank you for all the hard work that you, your staff, and your fellow instructors do to create and administer the Harmonica Masterclass. There are plenty of excellent harmonica players in the world, and lots of great teachers, but to find those talents and abilities in one person is rare. Add your love and enthusiasm in the instrument and the music makes it a real treat to attend your classes. How fortunate you are to have found a way to not only make a living doing what you love to do, but also to be able to share that with others.

For all the years I attended school there is a teacher who still stands out in my mind. It was in junior college and he taught physical geography. He was one of the younger teachers and when he did an experiment he became genuinely more excited than his students. I remember him jumping up and down when doing the volcano demonstration (combining potassium permanganate and glycerin in a model volcanic cone to watch the ‘lava’ flow). He really loved what he was doing and genuinely loved the field in which he taught. I rate you right there with him as one of the best teachers I have ever experienced.

I cannot thank you enough for the simple comment you made to me: On Saturday after the second class session when I related my frustration to you over how overwhelmed I was as the end of Friday's class, you said that after hearing me play on Thursday's informal jam that if you had heard that you would have told me that I was ready for the class. I now understand upon what you based that comment. I had basic skills and understanding of the blues, but without getting a start on some more advanced technique I would be locked into mediocrity and the longer I stayed there the more difficult it would be to advance. That simple comment from you really meant a lot to me.
 
------------------------------begin evaluation-------------------------------

When I first found the Harmonica Masterclass I got quite excited as I had been thinking about getting some lessons locally, but where to start? With twenty years experience as a teacher I knew that finding a good one could be a challenge. I read through the descriptions of the classes on the Harmonica Masterclass website, trying to decide if I was ready, or had the ability to attend the class.

In an attempt to decide I E-Mailed David and we exchanged a number of messages, all as part of my attempt to quantify my level of expertise and ability and to see how it meshes with the class descriptions. This was all a problem stemming from my ignorance. I was self-taught, and while I could keep up with most blues jams and play along well enough to get applause from the audience at an open-mic jam I attend each week, that really wasn't enough for me to properly judge my ability or knowledge. But I was realistic enough to be able to describe myself to David as a "one-trick pony." I had good skills playing single notes with pucker (no tongue-blocking), was pretty darn fast, and I had good understanding of the structure of the blues and playing in a group and soloing, but that was about all.

After some discussion I decided to take the class. It did not take long during the first three-hour class to see that even some of the basic skills being discussed were beyond anything I had attempted in the past. By the end of the first day (two three-hour classes) I felt very much overwhelmed and frustrated. I spent much of Friday evening wondering what I was doing there.

By Saturday morning I had settled myself down mentally and attended my classes with the thought that many of the skills being taught were new to me, and even though I was feeling overwhelmed I set my mind to learning as much as possible so that I could take home the basic knowledge to allow me to advance as I practiced over the next few years.

"Years?" Yes, indeed. The skills and tools being taught in these classes are those that need to be regularly practiced not just once, nor a few times, but regularly. Once I put my mind to the fact that I was not going to be able to absorb or accomplish the skills being taught I was able to relax a bit and not only enjoy the class more but also absorb more.

One thing that impressed me throughout the classes and sessions was the excitement, joy, and dedication that all the instructors possessed over the blues and playing them on harmonica. Beyond all that, their knowledge of the various artists we studied was amazing! Who played on what session, and who recorded that song before, and even knowing that a certain riff in a song was copied from another artist and when it was originally recorded and what song and in what studio. The instructors are not just folks who play the blues- they are people who live for the blues.

If you are not sure about taking the Harmonica Masterclass because you are not sure of your ability it can be a difficult decision to make. I can only relate my background which may be of assistance to you in deciding whether or not you are ready: I had a pretty good musical background. I played flutophone and recorder in elementary school (and about a month of violin, but let's not go there), clarinet and bass clarinet in junior high and high school, and learned flute in high school. I fooled around with harmonica over the last four decades as well, but not seriously. About thirty years ago I had picked up a couple of the "learn to play the blues" sorts of books that get the beginner a start on playing cross harp. For about seven months before the class I had been playing a set at a weekly, open mic blues jam at a local bar. The musicians I was playing with were, for the most part, quite accomplished and talented, so my level of playing was challenged and improved. At the same time I practiced at home about three to four hours a week.

Even in all that, without further direction or lessons, I was stuck in a musical rut. As described previously, what I could do, I did fairly well, but I didn't do much. And although not necessary, some basic knowledge of the following skills would have been helpful to me before taking the class. In my opinion, even a little practice with the following will prove to be very helpful in making your experience more productive and fun while lowering the frustration level. I share them here in order to assist those who may be unsure about taking the class:

Tongue Blocking - Being able to accurately hit two adjacent holes, or to play an octave chord (1-4 blow then 2-5 blow, etc.)

Reading Tablature - This is the basic way that harmonica music is notated without using the traditional staff with notes and bars, etc. Practicing this a bit before going to class can relieve a lot of stress during the classroom sessions.

Tone - Without instruction this can be a difficult skill to describe, but playing with an big, open tone by opening and controlling your embouchure is very important. This might be one of the easier things to pick up in class.

Bending to a Note - Being able to slur a bend is not difficult for most players, but being able to accurately hit a half-step or full step bend is an intermediate to advanced skill that takes practice (and a good harp, properly set up). Getting a chromatic tuner with an analog meter (with an actual moving needle, or possibly an LCD-meter equivalent) is an excellent tool to practice bent notes.

My overall impressions changed during the weekend. On Friday I thought to myself, "This is the most money I have ever spent to find out how little I know about playing the harmonica." By the end of Sunday I was overwhelmed at how much real and useful information I had gathered over the three days and could see that I could practice for a few years from what I had been taught in the harmonica Masterclass, even if I never attended another.

So to me, the class was more like an introduction to what I still needed to do with my playing, but even with as little as I was able to absorb, technique-wise, when I got home I put on a blues tune which I was familiar with and played along a bit for my wife. She was amazed at just how different my "new sound" was. She has no real ear for the details of music, so she didn't realize that I was now adding some simple octave chords and was using (or trying to use) a larger embouchure to create a bigger tone, but she was impressed at how much my playing had already changed for the better.

I will also take a minute here and talk about the class format. Each of the three days we concentrate on two artists (two sessions on Little Walter on Saturday). We learn a little about their lives, their recording histories, and why they are important to the blues in general and to harmonica playing specifically. If you have never experienced that it might sound a bit superfluous, but it has more meaning and value than I realized.

When I got home I played some songs by artists that we had studied which I happened to have on my computer. What use to be just great blues tunes to me in the past, before I took the Harmonica Masterclass, took on an entirely new meaning. "Juke" by little Walter now gives me Goosebumps and chills when I listen to it. Knowing the artist and the details of the recording session brought an entirely new dimension to that song, and I can say much the same about the other artists we studied.

Beyond all that, the only negative thing is that David's School of the Blues is just a bit too far for me to have regular lessons from David, but I hope in the future to be able to get an appointment for a lesson once every year or two as time and finances allow to be able to make use of his knowledge and skill as a teacher.” Randy G.