Blues Harmonica Lesson - 5 Reasons To Use Tongue Blocking

Lee Sankey shows 5 reasons to consider using tongue blocking on the harmonica. Ever wondered why you should try tongue blocking or what all the fuss is about? Then watch this video for Lee's perspective on this essential blues harp technique.

This is the first video from Lee in a series about Tongue Blocking.

Lee's harmonica blog - http://www.harmonicathinking.com
Lee's site www.leesankey.com
info@leesankey.com

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Lee Sankey
• blues
• harmonica
• lesson
• tongue blocking
• learn
• howto

[JohnnyBazooka]

Thank you. I just tried the first song I learned with TB. Sounds horrible, but it's not too difficult to hit the notes.

How do you do the bendings with TB?

[leesankeygroup]

@JohnnyBazooka Hi Johnny, thanks for watching. This video is part of a series I've uploaded on Tongue Blocking. There are 2 videos covering tongue block bends. You can find them on my channel. You can't post links here in comments. Let me know if you find them o.k. Lee

[hohner2010]

hi lee sorry for this.. another bloody question, i really need to start using the top end after 6th hole more than i do now . i can over blow and over bend but i really just want to focus on playing blow and draw for now to start using them a little more. can you help please

[leesankeygroup]

@hohner2010 Hey no problem, questions provide inspiration for what I should cover next. I think this could be an interesting area and I imagine many other people would like to hear about it too. I will do a video series in a few videos time. Meanwhile a good place to start is to make sure you can play 1st position major scale from hole 1 to hole 10. Up and down. Playing this smoothly and confidently, including the high register 7-10 will be very helpful.

[hohner2010]

wooow any tuition video on the country chug you did it flows really sweetly, my chug is missing the wooping noise and timeing ? thanks for video its helping as i love and perfer pucker mode, and do what adam gussow uses with the tounge blocking as i cant yet move around with it to blow one hole or draw one hole without lettin air slip now and the. i can however draw bend ?? weirdly... does this mean later on i might acquier it totaly into my play

[leesankeygroup]

@hohner2010 Hi, if you prefer pucker mode then roll with it! I recommend being able to do both techniques. Tongue Blocking will give you certain effects so it's definitely worth learning. My tongue blocking videos (there's 8 or so now) are geared around combining pucker with tongue blocking. If you work through them you will begin to be able to move around the harmonica using tongue blocking. A few people have suggested I do something on county playing, so I will do soon, thanks Lee

[hohner2010]

@leesankeygroup ohh yes sssweet , thanking you kindly and i will read up and study the 1st possion as this i have not been over before either so i really need to get an idea of what holes are included unless it's straight harping then i know where i am. i think am at that stage now to venture off second possision which has been a certain home for me and my practice till now. many thanks for the returned replay

[hohner2010]

@leesankeygroup thanks for writing back i had a 3 hour gap in my lazy day today and actually sucked a bit out of the tounge blocking video's and although i hardly use this tecneque unless playing 2 notes together i realised that my aim's off center and i need to get that sorted now rather than later and i can sort of jump from hole 1 to 4 without a slur of notes .. so all in all i owe you 1 and over time many more haha thanks and can't wait for country stomp

[leesankeygroup]

@arthur1062 Yo Arthur, you can't go wrong listening to Big Walter, one of the all time great players. Thanks for the comments and interest. All the best to you, Lee

[arthur1062]

hi lee , terrific information on this technique, i am using both now ,to the best i can, i listen a lot to big walter horton , loved youre country riff , arthur .