Or you know, you can actually do the work yourself and analyse all those scales, transpose them in every clef and make your owns scale silabus.
And come on, it's supposed to be about impro and the first things you let the listener hear is a you doing a tune that you have been wroking on for what ? 2 years if i am not mistaking that is the penultimate example of a written piece without any place for improvisation.
That makes me sad, your prowess on the instrument are equally matched by your clumsiness at doing good PR of yourself.
What are you doing beside overly priced stages at marakech club med and another scale sylabus like any of the other thousands one you can find already ?
Your worth way more than that David. A lot more.
Last Edited by Kaining on Feb 26, 2015 1:28 AM
David, first off, I'm upset by the two previous posts - if they do not violate the forum rules, they come pretty close! (please refrain from flaming, insulting, or otherwise impugning the looks, parentage, intelligence, or good intentions of your fellow board members and The answers, of course, must remain civil.)
...Anyway, no sense on getting off-topic over that...
To clarify, you are offering a book of scales, a DVD to demonstrate those scales, a workbook to practice the scales and a DVD to go along with that workbook which includes loops (jam tracks) over which to improvise.
You cover some interesting choices of scales. To me, the magic (and most of the work) happens when you leap from being about to play a scale to being able to *use* a scale. How do you cover that in this series? Do you do more than just demonstrate a lick or two? Is it mostly on the DVDs?
You are absolutely right, the magic and the hard part is to understand what to do with a scale and how to go from a series of interval we call scale to good sounding music. Also you will find that many times you have a lot of scale options. That is what the main book gives you in an easy way : all the options at a glance. If you want to compare 2 scales or modes it will take you only a few seconds. If you are wondering how you can use one scale to solo over different chords you get this info too. If you are looking for exotic scales you get them as well and most of the time already laid out in all 12 keys. And of course then I give you examples of over 30 different type of scales or modes. Not exercises of how to go up and down but musical examples and tips on how to use scales to make music. For instance : how to use the major scale, triads, and multi pentatonics to play over a 7th chord (typical of the type of vamping you'll find in funky tunes, how to use the dorian mode to play in a miles Davis modal mood, but also more dissonant options with altered or even Messiaen scales and exotic scales you have probably never heard about before. Overall this is a very comprehensive tool that gives you the necessary tools at hand and show you how to use them. The book gives you over 40 real different scales and 400 modes which makes it impossible to demonstrate all ... but I cover more than 30 different sounds in a variety of contexts such as major and minor ii V I, static improv over Maj7, Maj7#11, Maj7#5 7, 7#11, min7, min7b5, altered chords ... I cover the most widely used options such as the major scale, dorian mode, mixolydian mode, major and minor pentatonics, melodic and harmonic minor sales but I also demonstrate obscure choices such as Messian modes 5 and 6, altered pentatonics, the hungarian scale and more ... Every time I play an 8 to 32 bar example in a real context so that you can practice it on your own and understand what I am doing and how I do it, see the scale at work and break down the mechanism. I play all the examples on the DVD and they are notated in the Exercise book. The 230 loops dvd is a great tool to practice in any key. I use those for my own workouts.
I sincerely hope and think it will help anyone willing to know the harmonica better, expand his musical vocabulary and improve his improvisational skills.
You have the option to purchase each item separately : Encyclopedia of scales (84 pages book) Exercises for harmonica (40 page book) Encyclopedia DVD (2 hours) 230 loops audio Dvd (230 playalongs)
or as a bundle
Available from Amazon and harmonicaland.com ---------- David Herzhaft
Last Edited by David Herzhaft on Feb 26, 2015 7:16 AM
David, we have both a separate forum for sales pitches and a thread for posting anything for sale. Here are the links. The idea is if we let everyone post their for sale stuff on threads all over the main forum pretty soon all we'll have left is a craigslist like page. In the future, please use one of them instead.
And, that said, LittleNigel, you are new here. Please read the forum creed. While your advice may have been intended as advice it came off as an attack.
Kaining, you've been here long enough to know better. This is your warning. Be civil.
Only 720 modes!? I can't help but feel cheated out of not getting 999.
Well done video. I just kept waiting for you to say, "But wait, there's more! Order now and get not only one, but two complete sets, all for just the price of shipping and handling. Order in the next 5 minutes, and you will also receive this handsome carrying case. Sorry, no COD's".
Last Edited by CarlA on Feb 26, 2015 12:57 PM
My bad, i undoubtly have phrased my opinion the wrong way. Sorry for that.
Still, i stand by it and i'll try to be less hot blooded about it. I'm gonna try to not be that at all but i am not sure i know how to. Please bear with me a little more.
That promo trailer just show yet another scale syllabus and those don't works that well to learn to improvise. And after the scale syllabus, the first other selling point is clips of David's playing, starting with a piece that is on the dark side of the force when impro is concerned.
Only someone that don't know anything on how to learn music (not saying how to teach, how to learn. I am placing myself in my shoes: the student and potential customer) might buy David works after seeing that. I know that first hand because i have been there and have bought books and other material promoted exactly the same way.
So yeah, Diggsblues, hearing how i play would actually prove that point. Sadly for me, for your pleasure if you actually do apreciate listening to very poor performance. Also BTW, if i have been disrespectfull, you have too since the good old argument of "if you can't do, shut up" is as insulting as saying "those who can't do, teach". Which i didn't say, quite the oposite actually. Let me check. Yup, i just reread my previous post, my last sentence was saying just that, David can do (and it's also saying "what the hell is he teaching ?" in that context. It's literaly the opposite and... hell, yes, it is quite offensive.) I apologise for being rude.
Anyway, yes, i stand by my opinion: that video is doing a very poor job at promoting David works and felt to me like another scam 6 pack abs workout method for learning to improvise. However, David answer to Andrew do actually makes me want to buy his works as what he is telling us there is what makes someone better at improvising (harmonic knowledge of chords and how to uses the apropriate scales on it. In oposition to simple knowledge of 720 scales and modes and high velocity playing ala flight of the bumblebee).
--- I hope i haven't been offensive/rude and my post is not considered as "simple flamming/trolling" as i am just trying to convey my opinions and feeling on a promotional video left on a forum mode to exchange opinions and debates about them. If i have, i apologise.
also, here is a shorter version in french, probably a little bit calmer than what i just wrote:
David, je m'excuse si mon message à pus être offensant, je tenais juste à dire que cette vidéo ne reflétait absolument pas ton talent. Le message d'explication concernant le contenu de ton travail juste après est déjà beaucoup plus engageant. Cette vidéo semble orienté pour un public complétement novice en matière musical, pourtant le contenu tel que tu le décris est destiné à des pratiquant intermédiaires. Or n'importe quel personne avec un bagage théorique suffisant pour apprécier pleinement ton travail et susceptible d'en avoir réellement besoin va se dire que c'est un attrape nigaud. En tout cas c'est ce que j'ai pensé. Ce qui au vu de ce que tu expliques n'a pas l'air d'être le cas du tout. Maintenant j'envisage au minimum l'achat du bouquin d'exercice.
Bref, j'ai l'impression que cette approche promotionnelle te dessers plus qu'autre chose et je trouve ça dommage.
Ah, vu que tout le monde signe en mettant son prénom sur ce topic, pas de raison de ne pas faire pareil (même si mon prénom n’intéresse personne)
Quentin
Last Edited by Kaining on Feb 27, 2015 3:12 AM
