online harmonica lessons

Transcription and MP3 recordings are now up for the new Repertoire Builder song "Take It Easy Now." If you've finished Bending and Tongue Blocking Studies 2 then give this song a try, it's a real nice slow blues in G (C Harmonica in 2nd Position) with tons of great dynamic use.

And now deeper...

1) 1st Position: A Harp - 6+ 6+ 5 5+ 4+ 4+ = Pitches are E E D C# A A

2) 2nd Position: D Harp - 4 4 4+ 3 2 2 = Pitches are E E D C# A A

3) 3rd Position: G Harp - 6 6 6+ 5 4 4 = Pitches are E E D C A A

Let's look a little deeper into these position licks...

1) 1st Position Lick: A Harp - 6+ 6+ 5 5+ 4+ 4+ = 5 blows and 1 draw

2) 2nd Position Lick: D Harp - 4 4 4+ 3 2 2 = 5 draws and 1 blow

3) 3rd Position Lick: G Harp - 6 6 6+ 5 4 4 = 5 draws and 1 blow

Again, play them and ponder on the pattern as you play them...

Gary Smith's newest Submission (#25) for Song Writing (#16) is "Midnight at 7 Bamboo"

Now how about bending on your harmonica... well, as you might have guessed, it's the same as whistling! Grab your harmonica of choice and try the "sh" on the 6 draw... "kee" on the 4 draw... and "ku" on the 2 draw... now use all of those in order on the 3 draw... if you have issues with controlling the 3 draw bend, this is the essential understanding needed to control it. TAKE YOUR TIME and give this some effort.

Whistling a low-pitched note (like 3, 2 and 1 draw bends) you'll notice your tongue in the back of your mouth, with the pitch being created near the very back of the tongue... it can also help for you to drop your jaw. Note that the tip and middle of the tongue is not humped up... it's down so that you can have a resonant tone chamber... always thing "big tone" by getting parts of the tongue down that don't have to be humped up for the whistling/bending process. Experiment with this!...

Whistling a high note you'll notice the tongue forward in your mouth, with the pitch being created near the very front of the tongue. Note that the body of the tongue is high and large in the mouth, filling up the mouth cavity so that the air volume (space, not loudness) is very small... this is what's needed to sound the high pitch. Experiment with this, we'll dig more into this tomorrow.