[Harp-L] Howard Levy School vs. David Barrett School?

[Mike Fugazzi]

Levy seems to cover a wide range of things...according to this syllabus,
nothing really interests me until his intermediate level of study (some of
the 5th position stuff does). The jazz stuff is cool, but I don't really
play jazz, nor would I likely even if I wanted to. The world music piece
looks fun, and the tongue blocking piece where you chug/play a melody at the
same time looks wicked awesome. There is a wealth on 4th, 5th, and 12th
which I play and would like to learn more about. However, most of the
lessons seem theory based, which isn't necessarily unique to harmonica (I
can find that other places). Also, from what I've seen I get the impression
it is a lot of listening to Howard play a standard and then trying to figure
it out yourself. I didn't see much about "do this" or here is the tab. The
samples also didn't show me how to improvise with the knowledge.

The Barrett school is focused on blues only...which is something I do play,
although I am from the Ricci/Del Junco kind of school - Modern blues to flat
out modern harmonica. The videos are awesome and his teaching style is
wonderful. He holds my attention with his use of theory, and some of the
foundations he focuses on can be applied to other styles...and he teaches
improv. The artist inverviews are a huge bonus, and the equipment stuff
looks juicy. That being said, the licks and phrasing are going to be mostly
12 bar blues based - I won't be learning a "new" style of music for me, but
rather refining my tradtional chops and then learning to move them to
different octaves/positions. My use of extended positions and scales
wouldn't advance.

I am a very liberal user of overbends, which Barrett doesn't talk too much
about, but Levy does. For the time being, I don't see me getting to play
styles other than blues and rock. There are no "jazz" gigs around here for
me and I am totally foreign to the scene. However, I use more than the blues
scale and could stand to expand my vocabulary beyond learning melodies to
songs.

Advice?

----------
Mike Fugazzi
vocals/harmonica
"NiteRail"
http://www.reverbnation.com/mikefugazzi
http://www.niterail.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/mikefugazzi
http://www.twitter.com/mikefugazzi

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[Phil...@aol.com]

If you haven't yet, check out the Jamey Aebersold books et al. There is a
Rapid Reference that you can download (among the free stuff). He has added
two books since I last printed out the 9-page Reference.

http://aebersold.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=JAZZ&
Category_Code=_RAPIDREFERENCE

Also, The Real Book playalongs are mentioned on the site.

Also, even tho' it is a jazz site, it's not all jazz and not all Aebersold
products.
You don't have to shop here but it's a great place to browse.
Hope this helps.
Phil

[Jorge Simonian]

Hi guys, I'm a member at Howard School and must say is the best $60 I've
ever expended.
Suitable for all levels (I mean ALL...no matter how advanced or beginner you
are)

Now they reorganized the lessons....By level, and By Style...

In STYLE you can choose between Blues, Rock, classical, Jazz, latin, etc.
Each style has about , I don't know, 50 lessons.

I progressed in a month more than I progressed in a year.

Howard sees your video and responds you with another video...and you can see
all the videos of all the students and their answers....

Every week, Howard uploads a new video teaching something new or a new
tune...

Since I've been a member I spend a lot of time at home practicing what
Howard told me to...so I can send another video playing that better...that
motivation is great!

I'm going to be a member for a long time.

Just my experience in this amazing site that I wanted to share with you...

Regards,

Jorge Simonian
www.swingbrothers.com.ar


-----Mensaje original-----
De: harp-l-...@harp-l.org [mailto:harp-l-...@harp-l.org] En nombre
de Phil...@aol.com
Enviado el: martes, 04 de mayo de 2010 03:30 p.m.
Para: mikef...@gmail.com;
Asunto: Re: [Harp-L] Howard Levy School vs. David Barrett School?

[Ansel]

At the risk of sounding biased, I think Howard is the most brilliant
virtuoso who will ever pick up the harmonica. That he's not just living
at the same time in history as me but is also actually teaching is a
mind boggling stroke of fortune. It would be like learning from Charlie
Parker, Oscar Peterson, Itzhak Perlman, Jaco Pastorius--well, you get
the idea. Every other instrument has a long list of virtuosos which have
brought their genius to bear upon it. The harmonica, in my opinion, has
scant few. Imagine our luck that perhaps its greatest player is offering
to teach us what knows.

No one would argue that Howard is the most technically advanced player
to walk the planet. Personally, I think that alone is reason to study
with him, for you'll never master an instrument if you don't master its
technique. However, not everyone appreciates his style of music (hey,
not everyone appreciates John Coltrane either). Personally, I think
Howard plays with breathtaking beauty that is as eloquent as it is
moving. This is not just true of his playing jazz, classical, eastern,
latin, or the many other non-"conventional" styles of harmonica he's
mastered. What many don't realize is that Howard also can play some
mean, dirty, down-home blues that we were all raised on. What's unique
about his take on it though is that he plays with wonderfully fresh
ideas that are filled with wit and originality. As much as I love the
blues, it can quickly grow stale with recycled licks. If you want to
break the mold, then study with the guy who broke the mold.

Yes, Howard does talk about theory, stuff that's crucial to developing
musically. While you can get the same material on your own in books, I
think seeing/hearing your teacher talk about theory doesn't just help
you understand it, but also makes you take it more seriously. What the
teacher thinks is important will consequently be valued by you as well.
The same point applies to playing through changes, even the deceptively
simple I-IV-V. Few harp players do so, yet when it's done the music
suddenly sounds compelling. As being the only player to comfortably play
in all 12 positions, Howard of course will teach you to play through
changes, be it Juke or Giant Steps.

As for improvisation, there are videos on this as well, whether it's
improvising over I-IV-V (the glue of blues) or II-V-I (the glue of
jazz). And yes, Howard does teach by illustration/performance, which
sometimes means learning what he's doing by ear (although in beginner
lessons he spells out the blows/draws). However, developing your ear is
an essential tool to playing music. If you can't translate what you hear
to what you want to play, then you'll never play your instrument. The
instrument will play you.

But the greatest resource of Howard's school is the student video
exchange. This alone is worth the price of admission. No one else to my
knowledge does this. Even if someone else did, no one else could provide
a personal one-on-one instruction with the degree of musical
accomplishment as Howard. His grasp of different musical traditions
isn't just broad but equally deep in mastery. It's extraodinary to watch
him give a lesson on the Beatles then one on Bach then one on Stormy
Monday. In each case he deconstructs the piece with remarkable clarity
and patience, providing insights for the beginner, intermediate, and
advanced players to approach the piece. And if you have questions or
want feedback on your own rendition, simply create a video of your
performance and he'll answer it with a video in turn. That's f***en
unbelievable if you ask me, especially considering the subscription rate
($60/3months) which I think is absurdly underpriced. But that's just
my $.02, which might overpriced.


Ansel


------------------------------

Message: 9
Date: Tue, 4 May 2010 13:07:50 -0500
From: Mike Fugazzi <mikef...@gmail.com>
Subject: [Harp-L] Howard Levy School vs. David Barrett School?
To: har...@harp-l.org
Message-ID:
<k2vfa0e6f5b1005041107ic...@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

[Richard Hunter]

Ansel wrote:
<No one would argue that Howard is the most technically advanced player
<to walk the planet.

On diatonic harmonica, you mean. On chromatic harmonica, there's no doubt in my mind that Robert Bonfiglio is the most technically advanced player ever. Although I suppose that Robert might be willing to cede that distinction to Cham-ber Huang.

I have no doubt that Howards' online course is worth many times the relative pittance he charges. I attended the NYC seminar, arranged by Zvi Aranoff, that Howard conducted with his then-trio a year or so ago, and it was a profound learning experience. I'm wildly busy right now, but I'm considering Howard's course anyway. As Ansel notes, opportunities like this don't come along more than once in a lifetime, if that. If it weren't for the Internet, most of us would never have the opportunity.

Regards, Richard Hunter

author, "Jazz Harp"
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
more mp3s at http://taxi.com/rhunter
Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
Twitter: lightninrick

[Buddha]

I think inexperienced players should enroll in both schools. As you get
more advanced, I think you really need to get away from ALL harmonica
players and listen to other musicians to form your own sound.
I had a close relationship with Howard for many years but I never took
formal lessons from him. You can't help but learn something from Howard just
by hanging around him and watching how you do things. I've only briefly
checked out Howard's school and while I think any and all players can
benefit from enrollment, I don't think you will learn the things that Howard
really has to offer and the things that will really help skyrocket your
playing.

Both Howard and Dave are great players with a lot to offer but in the end
all they are really teaching is how to play notes. When I say notes, I'm
lumping together theory, harmonica and general technique(note production).
Learning to play notes is one very small part of playing music and to me,
playing the right note isn't even the most important aspect of playing
music. Your audience doesn't care about about notes, what and how you are
playing, they care about what sounds good and how you make them feel.

I learned more about music from hanging around Howard than I ever learned
any form of technique. His approach, what he listens to, how hard he works,
how dedicated he is, his lifestyle, how he lives etc is all far more
important in terms of getting somewhere with your instrument. Over the years
I have met other "elite" musicians and I have noticed many similarities.
Being good at what you do, regardless of whether or not it's the harmonica,
has more to do with lifestyle than notes.

That's my two cents.

[Bob McGraw]

Well said...
WVa Bob

Sent from my iPhone

[Arthur Jennings]

On Wed, May 5, 2010 at 12:47 AM, Ansel <ans...@gmail.com> wrote:

As being the only player to comfortably play in all 12 positions, Howard...
>

I don't think that statement is true. I'm pretty sure Carlos del Junco plays
comfortably in any position. There must be others.


--
Arthur Jennings
http://www.timeistight.com

[joe leone]

I usually wait till the end of the year to give out my 'Most
educational post of the year' award. Here it is only May and THIS may
be IT. If you never read anything else, you need to read this. 'I'
plan to re read it at least 2 dozen times. :)
smo-joe

[Winslow Yerxa]

Mike -

Dave is not the only content provider at bluesharmonica.com. There are several of us answering questions, making videos, etc. having the brainpower and perspectives of multiple providers is one thing that distinguishes bluesharmonica.com from Howard's site, where, however brilliant he may be, you're getting only one viewpoint from the provider side.

My job on the forum at bluesharmonica.com is to be the roving commentator. I also have a dedicated spot where basically you can ask me about anything harmonica related -  including overblows - achieving them, and using them msucally. Also, contributor Aki Kumar is both a proficient pverblower and something of an acolyte of the Jason Ricci school (not sure whether Jason is going to be a contributor to bluesharmonica.com).

Winslow

Winslow Yerxa

Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5

Resident expert at bluesharmonica.com

Harmonica instructor, jazzschool.com

Columnist, harmonicasessions.com

--- On Tue, 5/4/10, Mike Fugazzi <mikef...@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Mike Fugazzi <mikef...@gmail.com>
Subject: [Harp-L] Howard Levy School vs. David Barrett School?
To: har...@harp-l.org

[Ansel]

Of course you wont learn to be a virtuoso from Howard--such stuff can't be
taught, just as blue eyes can't be taught. What you will learn is the
fundamentals of musical expression that every player, from novice to
virtuoso, must grasp in order to "skyrocket your playing." And yes, I've
indeed seen students skyrocket on Howard's site in a matter of a few months.
Beginners naturally progress the quickest, but even advanced players have
shown remarkable improvement. They've learned not just how to play notes,
but the *right* notes (let me hasten to clarify: the ones which combine
together to please the ear and stir the heart). They've also learned things
just as, if not more important, than notes themselves, such as time, rhythm,
and expression. Because each student's videos are publicly viewable online,
you can watch someones progress over time. In some cases, it's quite
dramatic. Howard will provide feedback for improvement and a week later the
student will come back having adsorbed his advice. Empirical evidence
doesn't get harder than that.

If you're comments are only based on Howard's DVD's, then I can understand
where you're coming from. Those were certainly oriented more toward the
advanced player--or prodigy. But the same judgement cannot be passed on his
school which is an entirely different affair, accessible to both the
musically inept and the musically gifted.

Maybe elite musicians like yourself wouldn't benefit from any form of proper
instruction (although as I said, there are such elite musicians on Howard's
site who have). But for those who aren't virtuosos, which is 99% of us, we
have a lot to learn. And taking lessons from the greatest diatonic harmonica
player (who's an incredible teacher to boot) is the best way to do so in my
opinion. Oh, and incidentally, if you think hanging around Howard is the
best way to learn, then you can do that as well on the site (virtually of
course). You can ask any question concerning his approach, what he listens
to, how hard he works, etc. As for the more the personal questions like how
he lives, you may be SOL, although Howard is a very forthcoming fellow :)



------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Wed, 5 May 2010 07:08:19 -0700
> From: Buddha <groov...@gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Re: Howard Levy School vs. David Barrett School?
> To: Harp L Harp L <har...@harp-l.org>
> Message-ID:
> <w2g3c8737c71005050708t9...@mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

[Richard Hunter]

Ansel wrote:
<Maybe elite musicians like yourself wouldn't benefit from any form of proper
<instruction (although as I said, there are such elite musicians on Howard's
<site who have). But for those who aren't virtuosos, which is 99% of us, we
<have a lot to learn.

I find it hard to believe that even "elite" musicians wouldn't learn something useful from Howard. Many of the elite have already assimilated a number of lessons from his work.

Virtuosity, as you've noted, is something that comes with lots and lots of hard work and careful listening to oneself and others, not to mention genes that bestow topnotch nerve synapses. But anyone who thinks Howard's music is about sheer virtuosity is missing the point. As he showed in his playing on the soundtrack of "A Family Thing", Howard at 1/4 speed is an overwhelmingly powerful experience.

Anyway, it's unnecessary to defend Howard's playing. History is certainly going to place him among the top harmonica players of the late 20th/early 21st centuries. People on this list can decide for themselves whether they want to take advantage of his teaching while they can.

Regards, Richard Hunter











author, "Jazz Harp"
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
more mp3s at http://taxi.com/rhunter
Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
Twitter: lightninrick

[icem...@aol.com]

Excellent advice in developing an original sound - even in blues. I'm revisiting old Stanley Turrentine tapes sent to me years ago by Dennis Gruenling. He was very influenced by listening to other musicians.

As you get
more advanced, I think you really need to get away from ALL harmonica
players and listen to other musicians to form your own sound.

[Bob McGraw]

Depends on what you mean by comfortably :-)

WVa Bob

Sent from my iPhone

On May 5, 2010, at 12:26 PM, Arthur Jennings <timei...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[icem...@aol.com]

First of all, let's take the "vs" out, which seem to imply some sort of competition?


Why not try both? You never know from where inspiration springs.


Howard may = head, Barrett = heart in their approaches.