Questions/Concerns
My name is Jason and I'm 37. I am just now deciding to play the harmonica. I have always wanted to play but with growing up in a family with not alot of money things just didnt seem to work out. I am a disabled veteran and have some time now. Few days ago I bought my Hohner Special 20 key of C harmonica and saw the free offer for your sight. After doing research I saw on several sites that your site is the place to go to learn the harmonica. I am not sure there is any particular style I want to learn but it seems that you teach all the basics and then some. So I figured I have to start somewhere. I also picked up the book Blues Harmonica for Dummies so I can have something to reference when I am at work on my lunch break. Is there anythng else I would need to get me started because I really want to devote my time to learning the harmonica. I plan on getting few other keys for the harp like A, G, F and maybe Bb. Thanks for putting a site like this together so people like me can learn some things.
Jason
Hi David,
First, thank you for all that you share here. I am having trouble getting off the site and on my harmonica because there is sooooo much to see here. I'll get there, I promise.
I have been in the early lessons, (where I belong) and we have discussed tongue blocking and bending. I am getting a basic feel for both BUT am I supposed to be able to bend while tongue blocking?? Not even getting close to that one...
Thank you for your time,
Rick
Good evening Rick. Yes, you can bend tongue blocking. Take a moment and go to this page http://www.bluesharmonica.com/faq and watch the three videos under Tongue Blocking.
To sum up...
If you're already bending pretty well in a pucker, you can continue using pucker when you're bending. You would switch to tongue block when you want the "tongue block" sounds, like slaps, flutters, pulls, octaves, etc. If you play this way, you'll commonly pucker holes 1-3 and tongue block holes 4-10, unless you're bending. The videos will go into greater details.
A beginning player tongue blocks everything from the beginning, this has major advantages down the road and speeds up the learning process, especially in the intermediate and advanced stages. With that said, if you're already puckering and moving around the harmonica very well, then again, use a combination of embouchures and then down the road decide if you want to use tongue blocking as your primary embouchure. If you haven't advanced that far in your puckering, switch to all tongue blocking, it will save you grief down the road.
Welcome to the site Jason, we're glad to have you. You don't need anything in regards to learning material besides what's on the site. You're correct, though Blues is the focus here, all of the technique you learn here is applicable to the other styles out there. Start with the "C Harmonica Intro Lesson" (link at top left) and dig in. When you get your A Harmonica, start going through the Levels of Achievement as a lesson plan. You don't have to go through the testing process, unless you want to of course, it's there as a guide through the material. As you're learning, have fun watching the Interviews and Contributor videos. Best wishes on your studies.