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Messages - winslowyerxa

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Youth Scholarships for harmonica players aged 21 and younger:

https://www.spah.org/content.asp?contentid=100

Attending the annual SPAH harmonica convention lands you in the middle of a rich world of harmonica playing, jamming, performing, learning from the best, and sampling the many wares offered by makers large and small. If you’re 21 or younger, consider applying for a youth scholarship to attend the 2019 SPAH convention!

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SPAH 2018 awards - honoring the best harmonica players, teachers, and community members!

Every year SPAH, the Society for the preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica, bestows three awards on deserving recipients. If you’re a SPAH member, you can nominate candidates for any and all of these awards.

NOTE: Check to make sure your candidate hasn’t already won that award; they can’t win the same award more than once.

To get started, please download the awards packet, which is part of the registration packet, at http://www.spah.org/content.asp?contentid=138
This will give you all all the rules, the history of past recipients, the nomination forms, and how to submit your nominations by mail or email.

You don’t have to attend the annual SPAH convention to nominate a candidate, but you do have to be a current SPAH member. Remember, all nominations must be received by June 30.

Briefly, the awards are:

Bernie Bray Harmonica Player of the Year Award
  • Candidates should be individuals (not organizations) who are harmonica players
  • Candidates’ proficiency should be a source of pride for the community – the award should be for excellence in actually playing the instrument.
  • Award should be for distinction demonstrated or attained recently, preferably during a twelve month period prior to the deadline for nominations.
  • Only one person may receive the Bernie Bray Award in any year.
  • Only one person may receive the Bernie Bray Award in any year.

Pete Pedersen Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Candidates should have a record of achievements over a long period of time that may reasonably be considered to be the virtual equivalent of a lifetime.
  • Candidates that have established themselves as outstanding harmonica players are preferred.
  • Candidates should be active in promoting the preservation and advancement of the harmonica and the positive and meaningful interaction of harmonica players and devotees.
  • Candidates should demonstrate generosity in sharing their talents and knowledge, and in remaining accessible to members of the harmonica community.
  • Only one person may receive the Pete Pedersen Lifetime Achievement Award in any one year unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise.

Stan Harper Award of Special Merit (formerly the SPAH Award of Special Merit)
  • Candidates must have benefited the harmonica community in a manner that is deserving of singular honor.
  • Candidates may be individuals who do not play the harmonica.
  • Candidates may be organizations.

We look forward to selecting a deserving recipient as a result of your participation.

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SPAH 2017 awards - honoring great players!

Every year SPAH, the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica bestows three awards on deserving recipients. If you’re a member, you can nominate candidates for any and all of these awards.

To get started, please download the awards packet.
This will give you all all the rules, the history of past recipients, the nomination forms, and how to submit your nominations by mail or email.

NOTE: Check to make sure your candidate hasn’t already won that award; they can’t win it more than once.

Important points:
 
  • To make a nomination you have to be a current SPAH member.
  • Candidates do not need to be SPAH members.
  • Remember, all nominations must be received by June 30.

Briefly, the awards are:

Bernie Bray Harmonica Player of the Year Award
• Candidates should be individuals (not organizations) who are harmonica players
• Candidates’ proficiency should be a source of pride for the community – the award should be for excellence in actually playing the instrument.
• Award should be for distinction demonstrated or attained recently, preferably during a twelve month period prior to the deadline for nominations.
• Only one person may receive the Bernie Bray Award in any year.

Pete Pedersen Lifetime Achievement Award
• Candidates should have a record of achievements over a long period of time that may reasonably be considered to be the virtual equivalent of a lifetime.
• Candidates that have established themselves as outstanding harmonica players are preferred.
• Candidates should be active in promoting the preservation and advancement of the harmonica and the positive and meaningful interaction of harmonica players and devotees.
• Candidates should demonstrate generosity in sharing their talents and knowledge, and in remaining accessible to members of the harmonica community.
• Only one person may receive the Pete Pedersen Lifetime Achievement Award in any one year unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise.

Stan Harper Award of Special Merit (formerly the SPAH Award of Special Merit)
• Candidates must have benefited the harmonica community in a manner that is deserving of singular honor.
• Candidates may be individuals who do not play the harmonica.
• Candidates may be organizations.

We look forward to selecting a deserving recipient as a result of your participation.

4
Deadline to apply for a 2016 SPAH Youth Scholarship has been extended to June 1.

We already have some strong applications from previous award recipients but we’d like see some new faces, and we know they’re out there!

Do  you know an outstanding young (21 or under) harmonica player who would benefit from attending a SPAH convention? If so, encourage them to apply!

Every year, SPAH awards up to five youth scholarships that provide registration and accommodation at the annual SPAH convention.

Each scholarship recipient gets to attend all seminars and performances, visit with vendors and sponsors, learn from seeing, hearing, and interacting with all the varied and wonderful players and unique harmonica personalities that attend a SPAH convention, and participate in jams. Each scholarship recipient will also perform onstage during the Friday Night concert. In addition they’ll be required to help out for a brief period, doing things like selling raffle tickets.

We’re encouraging young harmonica players to apply. For more information, check out  the scholarship page at http://spah.org/content.asp?pl=94&sl=100&contentid=100

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Deadline is May 1 - please encourage youth players to apply!

Thanks.

6
The Harmonica Collective has picked up two new sponsors: Hohner, who will be sending product for the raffle and auction, and Danny G's newharmonica.com, who will be coming with harmonicas to sell - Seydel, Suzuki, and East Top.

For those of you not familiar, Danny G has a web-based harmonica business and is also a perennial vendor at the SPAH Convention. East Top is an emerging company that makes high quality diatonic and chromatic harmonicas that have been turning heads in recent months. Danny, himself a highly accompished chromatic player, was impressed enough with East Top that he's become a dealer.

For more on the Collective, (April 6-9, Indianapolis) check out our schedule of events at http://harmonicacollective.com/2016event.htm

You can still register for the full event or purchase individual day passes.

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Harmonica Internet Resources / Re: Jason Ricci Solo Harmonica : 2015
« on: February 25, 2016, 05:18:10 PM »
Jason can get very dense and fast, but he's also capable of tasty, sparse playing and he has great respect for the old masters.

By the way, I posted the complete schedule, including teachign topics, for the upcoming Harmonica Collective here: http://harmonicaboogie.com/bf02/index.php?topic=6996.0

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Misc. Conversation / Harmonica Collective teach-in April 6-9, Indianapolis
« on: February 24, 2016, 06:19:44 PM »
Now in its fourth year, the Harmonica Collective is a gathering of Expert Guides, faciliatators, and attendees ranging from beginner through intermediate and advanced. Starting the evening of Wednesday, April 6, with three full days of classes, coaching, jamming, and individual help on Thursday through Saturday (April 7, 8, and 9), the Collective offers a full immersion learning experience.

Expert Guides this year include Founder Jason Ricci, Poducer Winslow Yerxa, valved harp guru PT Gazell, and up-and-coming young Hollywodd film composer and harmonica player Ross Garren. For more on each Expert Guide, visit the Harmonica Collective Expert Guides page. Individual coaches include the one and only Buzz Krantz, aided by Dan Ridgeway and Jarred Goldweber. LD Miller will put in a special appearance on Saturday.

To register for the full event ($499) or a single day pass ($175), visit the the Harmonica Collective signup page.

Here's a rundown of the scheduled activities:

The 2016 Harmonica Collective Spring Gathering will take place April 6–9 at the Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Airport Hotel. Full event registration is $499, with single day passes available for $175 each. For more information, visit http://harmonicacollective.com

Expert Guides for 2016 are Jason Ricci, PT Gazell, Winslow, Yerxa, and Ross Garren. Buzz Krantz, Dan Ridgeway and Jarred Goldweber round out the teaching team, with a special appearance by LD Miller.

Each day, the Harmonica Collective will feature two learning tracks. You can move freely back and forth between these tracks according to your needs:

The Mountain Track features classes taught to small groups at the intermediate and advanced levels by each Expert Guide. Each Day, each Guide will teach one topic to each group. If you stay with your group, you’ll get all t four topics for that day (a total of 12 topics over three days. The topics are posted below for each day.

The Well of Knowing (aka the Red Schoolhouse) features teaching circles and individual guidance given by Buzz Krantz, Dan Ridgeway, and Jarred Goldweber, who will help you with whatever you may need, anything from basic harmonica technique to those “missing pieces” in your intermediate technique and understanding.
.

Wednesday, April 6:

Registration and afternoon orientation meeting, 6PM

Possible evening elective seminar (TBA)

Thursday, April 7:

9:30 AM – General meeting

Expert Guide topics for Thursday:

Ross Garren: Expand your classic blues vocabulary. Wish you had the musical vocabulary of the guitarist or saxophonist you play with? This class will show you how to use advanced bending and basic overblowing to expand on traditional Chicago or West Coast blues harmonica styles.

PT Gazell: Have - and use - all the notes on the diatonic harmonica. Once you master conventional bending, you already own 9/10ths of the diatonic. But it still has missing notes that you can get with overbends or half-valved bends – or even by using alternate tunings. However you get those notes, the harmonica becomes a more logical once you fill in the last few blanks in the chromatic scale. PT will show you how to get those notes working for you by working out a single song in three or four different positions.

Jason Ricci: Third position modal playing –  Aeolian, Dorian, and harmonic minor scales in third position from George Smith to Howard Levy

Winslow Yerxa: 4th position – the good, the bad, and the ugly – Fourth position has a lot to offer, but it also lays some traps for the unwary. Find out how this position can be fun on its own, and how it can enhance both your first-position and third-position playing – and more.

10:00 – 11:30 Small group classes with Expert Guides
11:30 – 1:00 Small group classes with Expert Guides

1:00 – 2:00 LUNCH

2:00 – 3:30 Performance Coaching with the Bad Kind

3:30 – 4:45 Small group classes with Expert Guides
4:45 – 6:00 Small group classes with Expert Guides

6:00  DINNER

8:00 Harmonica Collective All-Star Jam featuring Jason Ricci, LD Miller, PT Gazell, Winslow Yerxa, Ross Garren, Buzz Krantz, Dan Ridgeway,  Jarred Goldweber, Carson Diersing, and more.
VENUE: The Warehouse, 254 1st Avenue SW, Carmel, IN 46032 


Friday, April 8:

9:30 AM – General meeting

Expert Guide topics for Friday:

Ross Garren: 1st and 2nd Position Chromatic Harp: You’re probably comfortable on diatonic playing in 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions. But how about on chromatic?
The examples of George Smith and Paul deLay can show you the unique melodic and chordal possibilities of these rarely used positions and help you deepen your command of the chromatic.

PT Gazell: The treasures of fifth position minor. Fifth is a great position for playing minor, with expressive notes at both extremes of the harmonica’s range. Once you get the hang of basing yourself in the 2-hole blow note, the patterns are very intuitive, as fifth has aspects that are similar to both first and second positions. And when you include half valving and overblowing, you expand the possibilities even more!

Jason Ricci: Pat Ramsey 101 – Pat Ramsey was Jason's blues-rock harmonica mentor. Jason talks about how Pat showed him how to avoid just stringing together licks, and discusses Pat's use of triplets, sixteenth notes and "PAT"terns, and his unique "mixed -up-Lydian" scale.

Winslow Yerxa: Phrasing and the beat – When you place your phrases in the context of the beat – where you start, where you stop, and how long your phrase lasts, you can create magic, even with just one note!

10:00 – 11:30 Small group classes with Expert Guides
11:30 – 1:00 Small group classes with Expert Guides

1:00 – 2:00 LUNCH

2:00 – 3:30 Performance Coaching with the Bad Kind
3:30 – 4:45 Small group classes with Expert Guides
4:45 – 6:00 Small group classes with Expert Guides

6:00 –7:30 DINNER

7:30 –8:30 Elective topics TBA

9:00 til whenever – evening jams

Saturday, April 9:

9:30 AM – General meeting

Expert Guide topics for Saturday:

Ross Garren: Make a huge sound with octaves. The tiny diatonic can sound big and meaty when you play octaves and splits. This is such a satisfying sound that many blues chromatic players will play entire solos in octaves and split intervals. In this class we will explore exercises and advanced techniques that will help you get more mileage out of the octave sound on the diatonic harmonica. 

PT Gazell: Mastering different song structures. The same three chords used in 12-bar blues also make up the 8, 12, and 16-bar formats used in country, jazz swing, and Irish styles, to name a few. In this class you get a guided tour of how these formats and others work, along with some hands-on practice in playing over them.

Jason Ricci: The 30-minute Harmonica Upgrade – Customizing and harmonica repair with Jason's unique perspective. "The 30-minute upgrade," including embossing and re-arcing, tuning.

Winslow Yerxa: The Laughing Academy – finessing your air column – Make the most of the air moving between the bottom of your lungs and the air around your head to bring you big, full, tone, several colors of vibrato, ways to create sound textures, and power over note bending.

10:00 – 11:30 Small group classes with Expert Guides
11:30 – 1:00 Small group classes with Expert Guides

1:00 – 2:00 LUNCH

2:00 – 3:30 L D Miller special teaching session
3:30 – 4:45 Small group classes with Expert Guides
4:45 – 6:00 Small group classes with Expert Guides

6:00  AUCTION AND RAFFLE

7:30 –8:30 Elective topics TBA

9:00 til whenever – evening jams

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Harmonica Internet Resources / Re: Jason Ricci Solo Harmonica : 2015
« on: February 04, 2016, 02:46:08 PM »
Jason is on fire right now. He'll be teaching for three days at the Harmoica Collective in April; I'll post about that separately.

10
Do  you know an outstanding young (21 or under) harmonica player who would benefit from attending a SPAH convention? If so, encourage them to apply!

Every year, SPAH awards up to five youth scholarships that provide registration and accommodation at the annual SPAH convention.

Each scholarship recipient gets to attend all seminars and performances, visit with vendors and sponsors, learn from seeing, hearing, and interacting with all the varied and wonderful players and colorful harmonica personalities that attend a SPAH convention, and participate in jams. Each scholarship recipient will also perform onstage during the Friday Night concert. In addition they’ll be required to help out for a brief period, doing things like selling raffle tickets

We’re encouraging young harmonica players to apply. For more information, check out the SPAH scholarship page at
http://spah.org/content.asp?pl=94&sl=100&contentid=100

To make further inquiries, please send an email to scholarship@spah.org.

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Hello Room / Hi from San Francisco
« on: February 04, 2016, 02:37:46 PM »
Hi, I'm Winslow Yerxa. For those who might not know me, I'm the author of the books Harmonica For Dummies and Blues Harmonica For Dummies, past president of SPAH, the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonicahttp://spah.org (still active in awards, entertainment, and youth scholarships), faculty member at the California Jazz Conservatory, and columnist at http://bluesharmonica.com. I teach harmonica and play chromatic, diatonic, tremolo, bass, and chord harmonicas. I play traditional music (Celtic, Canadian, old-time, bluegrass), jazz, pop, blues, and a bit of classical. My articles on chromatic for the webzine HarmonicaSessions are available at my website, winslowyerxa.com - I invite you to check it out.

I hope to add to the discussions here and pass on news of interest from time to time.

Winslow

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