General Discussion

Okay, so I have this toy in my hands. It looks a lot like the toy I had when I was a kid. When I blow on it, it sounds just like I remember. The dog still runs under the couch (a new dog, that first dog is long since gone to the great milk bone in the sky). Sometimes, the wife runs under the couch with the dog (blow bend practice in particular). Everyone had one of these when I was little. It was great to skip down the street and blow a jaunty two-cord tune as you went. It was portable, you took it everywhere, and it worked great -- until you let Suzy look at it. continue reading...

First of all, bluesharmonica.com is an amazing site! I am thoroughly impressed!

As a beginner, I have chosen to work on the following with my practice time:
* Tongue Blocking Study 1 (Ex 1.1 - 1.3) - tongue blocking is totally new to me
* Walk With Me - Currently working in Choruses 1 - 4.
* Solo Harmonica Study 1 - Currently working in Ex. 1.1 - 1.6

I have watched the Joe Tartaglia lessons as well....extremely beneficial!

Any other beginners out there following a different pattern of learning? Any other suggestions? continue reading...

Looking at the thread views, it appears we've got quite a few folks just peekin' in and not postin'.

C'mon folks, jump in the pool!

I would be nice to see this as forum-central for everything harp related.

(besides, I could use the wisdom of you silverbacks out there)

Okay, I'm confused (a common state with me, so don't be alarmed). When I first started learning, I was puckering. Now it seems that tongue blocking is the way to go, so I'm learning to move away from puckering to that style. The problem is, now I'm confused about the other techniques. For example:

Bending - will I still perform bends in the pucker embouchure?

Shakes - will I (or should I) do shakes with the tongue blocking embouchure, or the pucker?

Are there any techniques that puckering is better for than tongue blocking?

Thanks, and...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

There are a ton of great interviews already posted. Who would you like to see David entice from his burrow to sit in the hotseat next?

My choices (pretty obvious I think):

Rod Piazza
Charlie Musselwhite
Kim Wilson

David, any comments on our choices?

Going to Sedona for New Year's and beyond. Anyone know of any blues bands around that might be playing? Or, are they so "vortexed" out that they don't get the blues? Would appreciate any harp/blues related contacts. Thanks, Deanna

Teacher Dave,

Is there an extra fee associated with submitting material to you for review? I have looked in the FAQ but did not see it there.

Peyton

Hi Everybody,

I want to introduce myself to who ever's interested and to Mr. Barrett and to the designer of this site. I just subscribed about three days ago. I have to say that I am really impressed with everything here. Everything seems to work perfectly and the organization and video persentations work great.

In terms of content I just can't say enough good things about it. I love the interviews! continue reading...

David or someone: I have an interesting problem when it comes to tongue blocking. A few years back, I had a wisdom tooth extraction that went terribly wrong. As a result, the entire right side of my tongue is numb as if shot full of Novocaine. I had corrective surgery, but it only helped a little bit. The numbness is there, but it's a bit duller than it used to be. So here's my problem -- continue reading...

Hello David, great new site! I've been playing harmonica for about 8 months and have progressed well and am able to do everything tongue blocking (bends, overblows, blow-bends, octaves, slaps, etc.) BUT I am now trying to adjust my technique to cover 4 holes all the time and it seems VERY awkward. I pucker the 1 hole and tongue block 2 hole on up. When I play 2, I block the 1 hole, when I play 3 I block the 1 and 2 hole, but then I seem to transition to blocking the 2 and 3 only (or only 2 holes on the right) when I play 4 and above. continue reading...