Slow blues improvisation approaches class recording

Harmonica key: C & A

Join me for in this class to learn more about approaches to improvisation over a slow blues. It can be very challenging soloing over a slow blues with so much space to interpret. It can cause many players to feel very vulnerable as the band’s volume drops and it’s wide open for you to improvise. Sometimes players run out of ideas quickly as they play everything they know. I am also hearing simply too much playing in the average harmonica solo.

In this class, I’ll give you quick simple strategies to practice and try out when you’re working on improvising to a slow blues. We will stick to 2nd position ideas in this class. A few broader concepts/approaches will be covered to help you feel more connected to while soloing over a slow blues. You’ll learn more about how and when to create space/rests in your solo as well as the power of long notes and simplifying solos to focus on scale notes first. Towards the end of class, I will demonstrate how setting up a motif or two can be very beneficial to your playing. Motifs and chorus forms are great way to stay connected and focused throughout a solo. I have a handful of beginner riffs and a handful of intermediate riffs. I’ll demonstrate how I would lay each idea out over a slow 12 bar blues and then I will show you how you can blend ideas together and work on rephrasing.