My bad habbits are hard to shake off already
Early observations so far....
Tongue blocking with slapping,moving around quickly seems reasonable ( for a beginner) i think its more of a slap and then a pucker sound , tongue blocking and holding a note seems clumbsy, slow and not close to tunefull.
Although im just new to this am i missing something very basic.The reason i ask is if i only tongue blocked i wouldnt know any better and would just consider it a rite of passage but when i slap and move i feel like im hitting the notes and moving along thru the tune but most probably not correctly.
Im sure you have seen and heard most everything by now David so i just wondering why when i tongue block i feel like im bogged down and cant progress through the tune......its that bad, when i slap and move along im playing something that resembles the tune im attempting.
Im thinking the self taught slapping and puckering i did for the few months untill i found this site has caused such bad habbits in such a short time. Brian
Hello Brian. Though challenging for you at the moment, get rid of slaps for right now. Focus on keeping your tongue on the harmonica to develop the skill to play a single note. The core skill of any solo instrument is the ability to play a clean, pure note. From that base, other techniques will flow to add interest to what the instrument can do. It also commonly takes a wind instrument a number of months to develop this skill, so be patient, it's a normal part of the process. Here are some elements to keep in mind...
1) Use a light touch with your lips and tongue on the face of the harmonica
2) Use more of the top of your tongue... it's wider and more easily covers the holes needed
3) Tilt the face (the hole side) of the harmonica downwards slightly, it matches the angle of the tongue more and helps saliva to stay out of the harmonica
4) Watch my videos with Sharon and Hob, we spend a lot of time in the intro lessons getting the embouchure dialed in
5) Purchase, or make, a Filisko Tongue Block Trainer so you can confirm that your tongue is doing what you think it is
6) Keep at it... you WILL be able to do it, you just don't know when