So much to learn, so little time
Hello David,
I am looking for a little guidance. Many of the study songs have split octaves in them. Boy, are those tough to hit. So I tend to skip those songs. I really like the split octave sound. It sure adds depth. I've worked on the exercises in TB Study 2.5. Pretty much stuck at the first section. Progress is slow. Should I resign myself to this technique taking a long long time? Like a year? I struggle with knowing if I'm even hitting the notes correctly. Any suggestions on how to improve a little quicker and telling if I'm hitting it properly? I did make a TB trainer based on Joe's web site directions. It appeared he doesn't have any for sale unless that's changed recently.
Thank You
Thanks David. I'll check it out. I did take a couple lessons from Kevin Bishop but not on octaves, though I have been considering contacting him. I like Kevin. He seems to know his stuff.
Yeah, Kevin Bishop is a good choice.
Hello Mark. Here are some tips for you...
1) Use a light touch - the tongue can easily cover too many holes if pushed on the face of the harmonica
2) Use an 11 O'clock angle - If your using the side of your tongue (apposed to the top of your tongue), octaves can be very difficult
3) Try moving from a single note on the right (4+ tongue block) and slowly sliding it (don't move much, it's easy to move too far) to the center and pulling the tongue back slightly to cover less holes for the octave
4) I don't know if you've studied Tongue Block Study 4 or not, that's the official octave lesson
5) Give this a try for a while and if you have no luck, maybe a one-time Skype lesson would be smart... you can email if you would like and I'll give you a list of instructors (or even better, click on the "Accredited Instructors" link at left... they can all help you.