Tongue Switching The 1 and 2
I'm not sure that it was covered in any of the lessons about this but I'm finding (at this point anyway) that I can only go between holes 1 and 2 by covering hole 1 with the right side of my mouth (not TB'd) and then slapping hole 2 when there is a 1, 2-i.e. Solo Study 2 Ex 1.7. Should I be tongue switching these two holes? If so, I would like to continue my practice switching, instead of the way I've been doing it. I don't want to have to work on changing and correcting bad technique later on down the road.
I'm working up to the LOA-L3 test and this is this ifrst time I've been somewhat seemingly "stuck". I thank you for what you're doing here Mr. Barrett. In the past, being "stuck" has always turned out to be an eventual stopping point for me but I am passionate about learning the blues harp. 6 months ago when I started I had no idea of the obstacles (seemingly) I would eventually overcome with ease. I also feel that the music in itself is a "goldmine" it took me over 49 years to discover. I thank you sir.
You answered the question. Thank you. And yes, pucker is what I was doing on hole 1.
I pucker for the one hole, too. The technique of tongue switching is too difficult for me to get, for such a relatively small payoff. That's just how I feel right now, at Level 2. I've spoken to a lot of harp players about this, and it's a fairly common practice.
When I get to the more advanced levels, I might have to learn it.
After practicing for a day or so, it now seems more natural to tongue switch. Puckering the 1 never quite felt natural to me. I'm really diggin' all of this.
I'm happy to be part of your journey Bill. Am I correct to say that you're puckering hole 1 (tongue off the harp) and then tongue blocking for hole 2? It sounds like that's what you're saying. This is fine... no issues with this. I personally play most the time this way. Tongue switching for hole 1 (as taught in Tongue Block Study 1) I think sounds a tad better, but it's splitting hairs for hole 1 to be tongue blocked (tongue to the right)... so if you're comfortable with playing pucker on hole 1, go for it.