Sonny Terry Blues Riffs (Volume 18)This is our first book of riffs devoted entirely to one harmonica star.These Sonny Terry-style riffs aim to introduce the developing harmonica player to the sound of the great man himself. Sonny Terry has been and continues to be a huge influence on generations of harp players and now here’s your chance to learn how to get that great sound.There are sixty riffs in this collection and you’ll need four different keys for them – A, G,Bb and C. The riffs are performed at three different speeds and the notation and tab gives as much information as possible to help you learn them. The album finishes with four playalong tracks – one in each of the four harmonica keys, for you to try out the riffs with.Bonus track : The great Joe Filisko has given us permission to include his track 'Good Friend' which is dedicated to Sonny Terry. You'll find this track after the four playalongs.Joe Filisko says:Sonny Terry was without question, one of the most well known of all bluesharmonica players. Sonny's stinging and popping sound, acrobatic use ofhands, rhythmic groove and pyrotechnic display of whooping, made him in myopinion, the most unforgettable of ALL harmonica players! Knowing the effect ithad on a live audience leaves little doubt as to why he was in demand his wholelife and why almost everyone will remember his name before Brownie's.If understanding and experiencing some of this magic is of interest to you, thenthere is great news! Ben has taken numerous essential Sonny Terry licks andbroken them down at three different speeds for you to access and learn assimply and painlessly as possible.If you follow him, Ben will put you on the fast track to the summit of the musicalmountain of Sonny Terry. This is indeed a journey that all harmonica playersshould experience.Joe Filisko September 2009www.filisko.comPat Missin says:A selection of riffs from the repertoire of one of themost influential harp players ever, brought to you instandard notation, tablature and audio examples byBritain's top harmonica teacher. A must have for anyonestudying the playing styles of Sonny Terry, as well as avery welcome addition to any harp player's library.pat@patmissin.comPaul Lamb says:Yes great stuff! Ben has dug deep into Terry's sound.I myself, am a huge Sonny Terry fan and played withthe guy. Sonny had a style that was truly his own,Ben has done something here that Sonny would beproud of.Paul Lamb.www.paullamb.comTom Ball says:"A fine addition to the great Sonny Terry's oeuvre."-Tom Ballwww.tomballkennysultan.comINTRODUCTIONI was first introduced to the captivating sounds of Sonny Terry by my first teacher,Paul Lamb, who told me ‘you can learn all you need to know from Sonny’, and Paulshould know - he studied nothing but Sonny’s style for twelve years and became wellknown performing in folk clubs in the UK. Eventually he was able to meet Sonny andplay with him on stage – I wish I’d been there!I got hooked in the 1990s and have loved Sonny’s style ever since. I bought TomBall’s excellent book ‘Sonny Terry Licks’ and learnt more about the way Sonny playsand also got most of his recordings to try to decipher them.So this CD/book is an attempt to explore small sections of Sonny Terry’s playing.We have simplified it where possible to make it easier for you to pick up and haveplayed it at three different speeds with a drum track to quantify the rhythms andnotate them with some accuracy.Some would argue against this method but I think it works and helps to understandwhat he’s doing. We’ve tried to get the ‘feel’ of Sonny’s playing across rather thanthe exact details.However I would recommend you also go back to the original recordings, and,having studied this book, you should be able to work out some of his playing onyour own – by then your ear will be in tune and you should be able to hear what he’sdoing much more clearly.If you pan right on the recording the drums disappear and you can hear theharmonica more clearly. We think Sonny is all about the groove so keep that inmind and try both ways – with and without the drum track.You will find four playalong tracks at the end of this album, each in the key of theriffs as they appear in the book. In E for the A harmonica, in D for the G harmonica,in F for the Bb harmonica and in G for the C harmonica. These are for you to tryout any of the riffs with a rhythm section.ARTICULATIONSThe words that you see above the notes (starting at riff 4) are an attempt toindicate what my mouth is doing at that time. I’m sure Sonny wouldn’t have thoughtof it in these terms but it seems to work well for learning about this style. You canpractise it by whispering these words loudly into your harmonica. If your ears hearother words from those we’ve written do feel free to alter them to suit your learning.WHOOPINGThe words that describe my awful ‘singing’, or as Sonny described it – ‘Whooping’start at riff 14. They are fairly interchangeable and inconsistent; just make it up asyou wish!Much care and effort has gone into producing this CD/book and the reward we areafter is that you enjoy working with it, and that it helps you become an even betterplayer.My buddy Joe Filisko has gone into Sonny Terry’s style (plus lots of others) muchdeeper than we have here. He notates throat and hand tremolo, vertical tongueflutters, tongue shakes, tongue slaps, hand pops, hands open/closed, head shakes,rolling R’s, clean/dirty notes, his whooping, the articulations and more…so get intouch with Joe if you want to get deeply immersed in the styles of the early harpplayers. Go to www.filisko.comThe book:A pdf version of the book with all tab and music notation is available for £5.00 from HarmonicaWorld.netPlease email us at info@harmonicaworld.net for more information.FREE HARMONICA LESSONS? You will find YouTube videos at www.youtube.com/paullennonuk and more at www.youtube.com/benhewlettukBiogs:Ben HewlettBen Hewlett became a musician at the age of ten in 1969 learning the trumpet. He went through the school system of exams and performances, finally escaping the mandatory classical repertoire with the discovery of Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. He was a minor third addict at fourteen and still has a passion for jazz and blues. Godfather Dennis Corble gave Ben a harmonica at the age of 7 thus unknowingly sowing the seeds of a lifelong love of this instrument!Paul Lennon L.T.C.L. (1957 -Paul is a composer/arranger, multi-instrumentalist, recording engineer and teacher. He studied violin, piano and composition at Trinity College of Music and later jazz harmony and composition with Amit Sen. His varied career has covered performance in classical, jazz, folk and rock and composing in different genres and styles including contemporary dance, jazz art music, ambient and film soundtrack. He has also co-written an entire series of educational CD/books for harmonica with Ben Hewlett. With the composer Dave Hewson he worked as editor and copyist on many KPM/EMI library albums. In 2010 a collaboration with Jonathan Cope resulted in Chakra Harmony - a healing album which Paul composed, arranged and performed on. The first solo album called Noodles & Blues Moods - Do You Want To Play Along? was released in 2013 and is the first of many albums to be released on CDbaby as a solo artist. This album features performances on violin, keyboards and bass along with programming. He currently plays piano in a duo with tenor saxophone player Howard Turner, of Itchy Fingers fame and continues to compose and record at his studio in Beckenham, Kent.For more info and showreel go to www.paullennon.com