training and submitting level 1
hello David, this is Jad Ghossein,
thank you for watching my video on facebook.
i have 2 questions
Question 1- is this a good way to train ?+ some specific questions on training:
total 70min (max i can do in a day)
-10 min on Standard Tongue Block
-10 min on Tongue Agility
-10 min on Shake (Trill) (My problrm here is that i cant get the timing right i go up then the timing goes wrong i slow down... and i dont sound like you in the video, any sugestions?)
-20 min on specific Chorus of Walk With Me study song (chorus 5 atm) Finding a problem in getting hole 3 and 4 at the same time and when i do it doesnt sound right (even if i lower my tongue ) can i switch to pucker when playing 2 holes found it easy?
- 10 min practicing from chorus 1 to 5 atm
- 10 min playing some stuff on my c harmonica from ure c courses.
Qusestion 2 :
Sadly in Beirut Lebanon they dont really give any importance to Harmonica all they sell is C harmonicas and i found 1 A harmonica by chance...asked friends to buy 2 for me when they come from abroad... the question is can i submit the level 1 using the key A ...and the key C instead of G... because i think i need max 3 weeks and i can submit the test level 1
Thank you
Hello Jad. Answers bellow...
1) I recommend you cut Standard Tongue Block, Tongue Agility and Shake down to 5 minutes each... using that time to work on your study song.
In regards to the shake... here are some tips...
- Use a light touch with your lips and tongue on the face of the harmonica
- Instead of sliding your lips across the face of the harmonica, keep your lips on the harmonica, shaking your head (or hands, if that's what you do), allowing your lip/flesh to move to perform the technique. It sounds strange, but even though your lips are not sliding left and right, the elasticity in your lips allow the hole you're creating when playing the harmonica to glide left and right enough to give you two holes of movement.
- Center your lips between the two holes, moving your head to the left (to 11 o'clock) and right (1 o'clock).
- Experiment... the shake takes time to get... AND... don't over-think it, you're just moving between to holes... sometimes you just need to shake your head and not think... it will get cleaner over time
No, stay in a tongue block when playing the two holes. Experiment with a small smirk on the right side of your mouth, or leaning towards the right-rear of the harmonica so that the slight angle brings in a little bit of the upper hole. It takes time to develop this fitness, so don't stress if it doesn't sound right in your first six months of training. I will also give you suggestions as your submissions come in and I can hear it.
2) Sure, just use the A harmonica then.