Hey i was trying to learn tongue blocking and i want to know is there any good YT lessons on it or any on the web? Im all right at tongue blocking but i want to get further.
I just started to work on tongue blocking. Strictly to play octaves. At this point I'm not interested in switching completely from lip pursing. In fact, after almost a year of U-blocking I switched to lip pursing. That was learning curve enough. I'm working through Adam's lesson on "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy". It has a ton of octaves in it and I'm really enjoying it so far.
You don't need YT. Tongue blocking isn't so much as a "how to" it's a technique that is there that you must practice alot to get comfortable with. All you need to know is you cover all 4 holes with your mouth and block the ones you don't play. For octaves you block the two notes in between with your tongue, and for single notes you block the three holes to the left, and if there aren't 3 holes, your tongue sits on the end wood/plastic part. Also, it doesn't take much force, your tongue should sit lightly over the holes.
of course, it is easier said then done.When I first started learning, I did octaves (and fake octaves) up and down the harp, as well as take on songs with harp octaves (examples: Down At Antones, Have a Good time, Juke, Adams Crossroads).
I also tried to play TB as much as possible for single notes. At first though, I recommend getting your feet wet with playing Oh suzanna over and over. After that, you are going to have to work on the lower 1 and 2 holes because that can be difficult and awkward at first (was for me). Practicing the 2nd chorus to Caledonia helped me there.
It only took me about a month, and now I'm pretty much a full time tongue blocker, bending and all (besides blow bends and overblows, I still leave that to LP)
I don't know if that helps, but for me it was a good exercise. Plus it introduces you to tongue block the left side. ---------- germanharpist, harpfriends on Youtube
Last Edited by on Aug 14, 2009 9:26 AM
Since they are played in the same fashion as octaves but not actually true octaves, I call them fake octaves. I don't know if there is a correct terminology ---------- Michael
Oh. Cool. Never even realized they weren't 'true octaves'. I always just considered any split like that (1-4, 2-5, 3-6) as an 'octave'. I guess I'm probably TECHNICALLY using the word wrong.
