Now I put this off for ages. I spotted that if you want to
nudge closer to the Chicago Blues sound you have to tongue block, you can’t
just continue with lip pursing.
In a Youtube interview with Brazilian harp player Tiffany
Harp she says (at 3.00) in that if you want to play Chicago Blues you definitely have to
tongue block.
So this summer I set myself the task to make significant
inroads into tongue blocking.
I’d tried it before,
with only very limited success. I looked at Lee Sankey’s videos on Youtube and
I wrestled and struggled and ended up disheartened.
My way round the problem was to look at the way different
Youtube tutorials approached the problem. By examining the amalgam of ideas I
finally came up with a middle way that was workable for me. In all it took me
about three weeks to crack it - not that I fully understand what is going on,
but now I find I am tongue blocking notes naturally; in fact I prefer it! And
through tongue blocking and tongue slapping there’s a whole world of blurred, chord-type,
bluesy riffs and licks to tap into.
Now listening to the various blues harmonica legends I’m
hearing it everywhere. I can hear where Sonny Boy is pulling/pushing his tongue
off/on the harp. Paul Butterfield's use of the tongue is particularly impressive.
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