Hi everybody ~ I wonder if there’s a good source for backing tracks to acccompany the harmonica. YouTube is somewhat limited from my searches. Thanks!
There are a ton of backing tracks to be found online, but most are not specifically aimed at harmonica players. To redress the balance, I have published three volumes of Blues Harmonica Playalongs as book/CD packages, each available in English and German:
Steve Baker: Blues Harmonica Playalongs vols. 1 - 3, artist ahead Musikverlag
These are instrumental tunes in a range of blues and related styles, recorded with a great band. Each song comes in two versions on the CD, one with my harp and the other as a playback without harp. The book contains transcriptions and detailed descriptions of what I played and how I played it. Available from the publisher here:
Thanks dude.
Is there a way to preview, or listen to the tracks before purchasing?
I can really recommend Steve’s Blues Harmonica Playalongs. I also started out with them.
Besides that you should also try out backing tracks that aren’t necessarily harmonica related or suitable at first sight. There is a lot of stuff on YouTube. Here are some channels for playalongs I like:
QuistTV (for blues and modal grooves)
Gonzalo Bergara (for gypsy jazz)
Learnjazzstandards (for jazz)
Camilo Valendia (a recent discovery of mine)
(Somehow I can not post links to Youtube)
Hope this helps!
-K
Thank you very much. I love the diversity.
Hi ,
I recommend this https://www.youtube.com/user/QuistTV
It has tons of good backing tracks for practicing , its a good way to play in different posicions too
Cheers and have fun !
Thank you very very much. I just checked out a great track in A minor
You can listen to a selection of the tracks on my website:
regards
Steve Baker
try making your own backing with audacity software and bits of you tube
easy to put together.
favourite players mark feltham from nine below zero,johnny mars,slim harpo.
Has anyone here used Mac Band in a Box to create their very own backing tracks ?
I haven’t tried it myself but I know from Harp-L that plenty of people do. I’m sure it will work fine if you know what you want.
Hello Mr. Baker!
I am interested in your three volumes of Blues Harmonica Playalongs as book/CD packages in
English. My question is, would you happen to have the books available in a download format? I’m asking because I’m totally blind, and books would make it that I would need someone to read them to me. This would not allow me to make any type of quick or steady progress. I would like the availability to do it independently! With a downloadable version like Word, PDF or Txt, this would be possible because I have a screen reader on my laptop that would be able to read it to me.
Also, when I clicked on the link, everything was in German, so I couldn’t do anything for obvious reasons! Thank you for your time and consideration in advance!
Rick from NYC
Hi Rick, I trust you are now sorted with the Playalongs and that I don’t need to respond here. how are you getting along with them?