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Join Aki for his latest submission where he talks about using the Major Pentatonic Scale as a device to lighten up the sound of his lines. Noted guitarist and recording engineer Kid Anderson (from Greaseland Studios in San Jose, CA) joins Aki for a performance of the original instrumental he write using the scale.

When I describe the pull technique in Tongue Block Study 2, I state to stick your tongue out slightly to cover the entire face of the harmonica... this creates what Joe Filisko calls a "Full Block," a position where nothing is open and no reeds/notes are sounding. The tongue then release off of the face of the harmonica to create the pull technique (the chord sounds). continue reading...

If when performing the pull (taught in Tongue Block Study 3) you hear a secondary sound, immediately after performing the pull, then you're adding an extra, unneeded articulation.

You're either using the "K" articulation immediately after the pull or closing and quickly opening the glottis (sometimes referred to as a "glottal stop") immediately after the pull. Both actions are not needed and creates a slightly strange "chicken cluck" sound. continue reading...

If you're serious about your studies, practice time is not flex time.

It's easy to use it as flex time though... you don't HAVE to practice and often a busy week turns into a week of no, or very little, practice. If you stop thinking of practice as flex time, but as a part of your day that's non-negotiable, then you'll be amazed at your progress. You'll also look forward to that part of your day... a time of focused distraction for the daily grind.