Tongue blocking holes 1 and two
Hi David, I've progressed well with my tongue blocking single notes so far... Once warmed up I can comfortably play holes 3 to ten in single notes in sequence, whilst also being able to play the hole 4 to 7 major scale in C. I however can't get a good sound trying to use the tongue technique on holes 1 and 2 for single notes... I find it quite awkward to play those notes from the right side of my mouth. How do you personally play holes 1 and 2 as single notes? Is it ok to lip perse them and transition to tongue blocking for hole 3? What is the common aproack for a tongue blocker in this case.
Thanks very much for that... Will check the tongue blocking lessons out! I think that's a good place to start for me as I'm probably a little advanced to begin in the fundamentals area.
Sounds like a plan.
Hello mitch90. It sounds like you're making good progress.
First off, don't play with your tongue to the right for hole 2, play with it to the left... this is important.
In Tongue Blocking Study 1 (https://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/tongue_blocking_1), I show you how to approach playing hole 1, in Section 2, the video titled "Chorus 2 - “Walk with Me” Study Song"
I personally do both... I tongue switch (moving the tongue to the right to play hole 1) and pucker (taking the tongue off for hole 1). Experiment and see what works best for you.
P.S., it's okay to allow your mouth to go beyond the edge/corner of the harmonica (don't change your angle of attack on the harmonica when doing this)... don't feel like you have to stay "in front" of the harmonica.