Do I need to learn pucker?
Hi
I am new to harmonica and have started to learn for around 2 weeks. Since I am completing new I pick up the lessons in this website and now is able to do some single (position 3-8) notes using tongue block. Of course my skill is still very basic and quite often the sounds are kind of "mixed" and I need to adjust a bit in-the-fly.
My question is it seems that even professional players may have issue using tonque block to play position 1 or 2. And from the FAQ it seems David is suggesting ppl who get used to pucker can use that in the first few positions. Do I need to learn pucker in order to play all the positions eventually? I can't see any tutorial on how to play pucker in the web site - will that be very hard for me to use tonque block to play position 1 or 2 later?
Hi David
Thanks for your answer. So tongue block on hole 1 is still managable for a beginner and will not be too hard to learn?
At this moment I feel that tongue block on hole 10 is very difficult and not to say hole 1 & 2 since I need to reverse my tongue to block on right instead of left.
Correct, tongue blocking for hole 1 is not too difficult... it's the default way students learn. You will get it, it just takes practice each day... it will get better with time. To play a musical instrument takes time... your best technique is to not be in a hurry (you can't rush skills development).
Thanks again David!
Hello hksarcow.
There is no need for you to learn to pucker on the harmonica. Down the road, there are a couple of interesting sounds on the harmonica with the pucker embouchure that you may want to explore, but nothing for years.
You will learn how to play hole 1 in Tongue Block Study 1, specifically the second chorus of your study song.
As a beginner, you’ll start with Blues Harmonica Fundamentals (https://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/blues_harmonica_fundamentals). After this lesson you’ll move on to studying two lessons at the same time… Tongue Block Study 1 (https://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/tongue_blocking_1) and Solo Harmonica Study 1 (https://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/solo_study_1).