Learn whistle method first, bending, then tongue blocking

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Posted by Stan Besaw on August 13, 2001 at 00:58:56:

In Reply to: Re: Question about tongue blocking posted by Patrick J. McKenna on August 11, 2001 at 15:48:30:

I couldn't agree more with most of what Patrick said in his post, but, after almost 25 years of teaching harmonica, I can tell you that6 it is much easier for the average person to learn single notes with the whistle method than with tongue blocking. After a few to six months of playing, add tongue blocking to your arsenal for new sounds and effects. Avoid the U-block method because it makes it almost impossible for beginners to learn bend notes. It is also typically much easier to learn to bend notes with the whistle method than the tongue blocking

Good luck,
Stan

: : Howdy folks. New to the harmonica (just bought one on an impulse today) and site so please bear with me.

: : I was going through the techniques for single notes and can get a single note pretty consistently with the "wistle" method, but am having some trouble with the draw (this is all on hole 4, BTW).

: : Also, I was trying to block the other holes with my tongue and that seemed to make things quite a bit easier, but when I pulled the harp away from my mouth and kept the same face, I noticed my tongue was in a shallow U-shape. It wasn't in a complete tube like the "U-blocking" technique on this site describes, but is this still considered U-blocking (or whatever it's called)?

: Hey Matt...
: In my honest opinion, there is no better technique of playing harmonica than the tongue blocking method.
: Whether the tip of your tongue resembles the letter U, or some strange character out of some obscure and bizarre-looking alphabet, my question is this...Are your notes clear (or progressively getting clearer)? If your answer is Yes (or YES!),
: than you are doing alright. Don't worry...Just keep practising...and have fun while you're at it.
: www.harmonicalessons.com is an excellent source of info. If you haven't explored this site, you owe it to yourself to do so. As for the message board, we (and that includes you) make it what it is (and this is one of my favorite sites!).
: Wishing you success in your endeavors,
: Patrick

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: I couldn't agree more with most of what Patrick said in his post, but, after almost 25 years of teaching harmonica, I can tell you that6 it is much easier for the average person to learn single notes with the whistle method than with tongue blocking. After a few to six months of playing, add tongue blocking to your arsenal for new sounds and effects. Avoid the U-block method because it makes it almost impossible for beginners to learn bend notes. It is also typically much easier to learn to bend notes with the whistle method than the tongue blocking : Good luck, : Stan : : : Howdy folks. New to the harmonica (just bought one on an impulse today) and site so please bear with me. : : : I was going through the techniques for single notes and can get a single note pretty consistently with the "wistle" method, but am having some trouble with the draw (this is all on hole 4, BTW). : : : Also, I was trying to block the other holes with my tongue and that seemed to make things quite a bit easier, but when I pulled the harp away from my mouth and kept the same face, I noticed my tongue was in a shallow U-shape. It wasn't in a complete tube like the "U-blocking" technique on this site describes, but is this still considered U-blocking (or whatever it's called)? : : Hey Matt... : : In my honest opinion, there is no better technique of playing harmonica than the tongue blocking method. : : Whether the tip of your tongue resembles the letter U, or some strange character out of some obscure and bizarre-looking alphabet, my question is this...Are your notes clear (or progressively getting clearer)? If your answer is Yes (or YES!), : : than you are doing alright. Don't worry...Just keep practising...and have fun while you're at it. : : www.harmonicalessons.com is an excellent source of info. If you haven't explored this site, you owe it to yourself to do so. As for the message board, we (and that includes you) make it what it is (and this is one of my favorite sites!). : : Wishing you success in your endeavors, : : Patrick

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