Solo Groovin’

By David Barrett, Mel Bay’s HarmonicaSessions® eZine

December 2009
One of the great joys of playing the harmonica is to play unaccompanied
music... just you and your harp makin’ music! This month I’ve written four
examples of jamming within the twelve bar blues progression. You can
play these by themselves (they sound darn good like they are!); as the
rhythmic bedding for improvisation; or as accompaniment behind a solo
instrument (you and another harp player or guitarist). Each example gets
progressively more advanced. Example 1 provides the basis of the melody
found within rhythmic chording. Example 2 demonstrates the chordal version of what you played in
Example 1. Example 3 is a variation on Example 2. Example 4 is a pattern the advanced students
can experiment with.

Ex. 1

Ex. 2

1
Ex. 3

Ex. 4

Good luck and have fun!

David Barrett
www.harmonicamasterclass.com
www.schooloftheblues.com
www.bluesrevue.com

About the Author David Barrett

http://www.harmonicamasterclass.com/david.htm