Riffs 1 and 2

You will be pleased to know we are starting really easy and very slow! You will absolutely be able to do this successfully without any experience. Here are the basic building blocks of Sonny's style. I have constructed these exercises to prepare you for the real thing and that starts at Riff 20.

Riff 2 and a lesson on tone.

As I started to play there was some fluff in my harmonica so I took the time to show you how I clean the instrument's mouthpiece and why it is not necessarily a good idea to clean the inside.

I also take the time to refresh on tone; the quality of the sound we are producing.

We all want 'fat tone'. Not the guy who delivers the pizza, I mean sounding good.

I'll show you 6 ways to improve your tone.

Then we go into Riff 3.

Riff 4 is still easy and develops from Riff 3.

Riff 5 is a little trickier as it is syncopated but you will get it with a little practice.

Riffs 6-8 stay in the style of riff 5 so start off with that and gradually and progressively you will be able to play these. Use the slow version in the middle of the MP3 if you are sruggling and repetition is your favourite friend here.

Riffs 9-11 introduce the idea of 'hee-haw'. It makes no sense when you read it here so dive in and listen to the audio - all will become clear.

Riff 12 introduces the idea of a 'hand-pop'.

HAND POPPING (H.P.)
A technique where the free hand (usually the right) forms a cup shape and claps the
harmonica and the other hand to make a popping sound. This movement is performed
swiftly by moving in and away from the harmonica - a bit like slapping your thigh or making a
‘high 5’!
I'll teach you how to do it here but there is an older version of ‘How to Hand Pop’ video on our YouTube page - YouTube/PaulLennonUK if that adds anything.
In the book you’ll find this technique used on riffs 12 - 19, 40, 52 & 53.

Here we are building on the technique of hand popping and adding musical accents. These are the little arrows (like the signs meaning 'more than') that you see above the stave.

This is the last set of excersises in the Sonny Terry style. They will by now have prepared you for the rigours to come! Riffs 20-60 are not excercises, they come directly from hearing Sonny play and analysing his style.

This is a classic Sonny Terry Riff such as you will find in Mean old Frisco. Have a listen to the original and play along with Sonny. You'll find in in bar 5 as far as I remember.

Rif 21 is another way of playing riff 20. Here we use 2 draw instead of (in riff 20) 3 blow. Try both and see which you like. The breathing is the important aspect here. 22 - 24 are further extensions in this progression. Each riff takes you a little further into the Sonny Terry world.

Riff 25 is a further development on of the previous group. We are still extending the Mean Old Frisco riff.

Another riff in the Mean Old Frisco style but extended from the previous riff.

Now we look at two riffs exploring syncopation - off-beat rhythms - and learn to play them in the Sonny Terry Style.

This is the intro riff associated with many of Sonny's songs - listen to Sitting on top of the hill, he often uses it there.

A variation of riff 29 - there are many variations as you will tell if you listen to Sonny Terry's playing.

This intro riff has not only triplets but a small decoration with a bent note on the first one. You can play it with or without the decoration.

Another intro riff here. It uses scoops and triplets to great effect. Remember what I say in the video about how you can play it clean or dirty as well as puckered/tongue-blocked.

For the final intro riff we have a nice rythymic riff which propels to headlong into the song.

Ok, we enter a trickier phase now. Try playing the riffs nice and slow and you will be able to manage them. Don't forget to study the words I have written down on the pdf, it should help you get it.

Again, take this easy, learn the words, speak the words and get used to it before putting on the video.

Last of three riffs in the 'chick-a-wa' rhythm. Take it easy as you learn this one.

Now comes a series of riffs based on the Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee version of 'Pick a Bale of Cotton'

This is the chorus part of Pick a Bale of Cotton and I've brought in aspects of the Leadbelly version (with the Golden Gate Quartet) which you can find here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd5ViH_5598. Beautiful pulsed rhythms here as you will see in the video.

Back to the verse in the Leadbelly version. It has amazing pushed rhythms at the start and in the middle. Check it out.

Riff 40 uses the 'hand pop' that we learnt in riff 12. If you take it steady you will be able to play this slowly and with lots of repetition.

This is the last of this section of riffs. It is really nice and rhythmic and you'll enjoy playing it.

This next section takes you deeper into Sonny's style. Here we are going to need chords and single notes all mixed in together. Try tongue blocking and puckering to see which work better for you. I would recommend the TB method really as it's so useful and creates so many posibilities in your playing.

Riff 43 adds notes and swaps some around when you compare it to riff 42. It is essentially the same but with extensions.

Riff 44 encourages you to learn to play a big jump. Going from a 123 chord to a 6 blow is not easy and learning this now will give you an extra skill. Sonny uses 4 draw 6 blow a lot so it's useful to get this down.

Riff 45 starts with a 3 draw slightly bent and after a normal 'chucka' and a typical (for this section) 5blow 4draw you get another 'chucka' and another plaintive 3 draw. Breaking id down as we do on the video will help you understand it clearly.

Riff 46 is getting close to the end gesult which you will find in riff 47. We are learning the next extension in preparation so go slowly and practice it before moving on to the next.

This is the last in the section and the culmination of a lot of work leading up to it. Learn it well and use it as a showstopper riff to impress your bandmates and the audience!

I love these outro riffs - and where better to put them but at the end of this course!

Here's a couple of very very fast ending riffs you need to learn. One has a sung note in it. I don't mean Pavarotti - it sounds more Bruce Lee.

This classic ending riff will stop any band on a sixpence.

Don't forget the 2draw bend and the hand pop to finish it off.

Riff 52 reverts to single note playing but remember you can play it 'dirty' as Sonny often did.

Another classic. This riff is used but Sonny a lot but not only by him; a variation falls at the end of half the songs by Rice Miller - Sonnyboy Williamson 11. You will even hear the great William Clarke using a variant in his hit 'Pawnshop Bound'

This one starts with a nice steady rising ramp triplet on beat 4 leading you to three plaintive 3draws which are played flat and bent. Release them up to pitch for the desired effect.

Here's your chance to sing a bit! Sonny did a lot of 'whooping and hollering' and whilst we haven't covered too much of it this time I may do some more later for you.

A fast and furious chug with hand pops is another great way to stop a band in its tracks - I'll show you how in riff 56.

Great phrasing is a must for musicians and this ending riff has tones of it. You can rattle this one out at speed and bring the house down.

Another cracking good riff to end your songs with.

Here's Sonny's 'doodleoodledoodleoodle' ending riff explained and a brilliant ending from 'Calling my Mama' which is a good way to end this course.

That's it - you're done! Time to do a Udemy review and get your certificate. Look for the green cup and Udemy will send you one when you press the button.

If you want more Sonny Terry I have enough prepared material for 2 more courses like this. Or would you prefer some Sonnyboy Williamson 11 riffs?

Use these backing tracks which are specially written for you to practise the Sonny style but with a contempory or even rock backing. Sonny did an album with Johnny Winter near the end of his recording career and that sparked the idea for these tracks.

Thanks so much to Madcat Ruth for letting us use this track. You will want to check him out after hearing this track if don't already know about him.

It's Blues Time!

Peter Madcat Ruth is a Grammy Award-winning virtuoso harmonica player based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. But Madcat doesn't just play blues harp: he also sings and plays ukulele, guitar, high-hat, jaw-harp, penny-whistle, kalimba, banjo and other folk instruments from around the world.

Madcat's repertoire of styles includes Blues, American Roots Music, Folk Music, Jazz, and World Music.

Madcat tours with The Madcat Midnight Blues Journey, Chris Brubeck's Triple Play, and The Big Joe Manfra Blues Band, as well as doing solo performances.

This is to help you understand and learn where all the notes are on your 'C' harmonica