Push and Hold - Blues Harmonica Lesson
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- čas přidán 21. 08. 2024
- Want to improve your phrasing? Be less predictable? In this this lesson on timing skills for blues harmonica I show you the "Push and Hold" one of my favourite phrasing techniques. We'll take a well known riff and transform it from something linear and predictable into something interesting just by using subtle changes. You'll need a C diatonic harmonica to play along.
If you enjoyed this lesson, watch the next one in the series: • Four ideas to transfor...
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Camera: Fuji XT3, kit lens
Mic: Rhode Video Pro
Harmonica: Hohner Crossover in C
Thank you for watching my CZcams Channel. My name is Lee Sankey and here I post videos of my music, provide tips, tutorials and courses for playing blues harmonica. My content is mainly aimed at intermediate and advanced players. I hope you find my channel fun, informative and useful.
Kim Wilson is so good at this technique and I had no idea what he was doing. Dennis Gruenling is another that does this technique to perfection. It makes their shuffles sound so buttery smooth.
👍🏼
Dude, thanks for watching. I'll email you for a catch-up. Crazy times! Lee
Thank you Lee Sankey! You're always making a great videos! I learned tongue blocking with you. Thank you again!
Hey João, thanks for watching. I'm delighted to hear you learnt tongue blocking from me! It's a transformative technique. Lee
Awesome! Thanks!
Hey Lee, still working on this push hold thing seems critical and what you said about getting your body moving made a huge difference for me and it’s easy to overlook, thanks once again!
Glad that helped Mark. Are you on my emailing list by the way? Lee
Lee Sankey not sure! How do I do that?
You stay well too Mr Sankey
You to Eddy, you staying inside?
Yes, l sure am. Everybody who can, should. All the best 😎👍
Thanks!
Good as always lee keep up the good work and stay healthy mate
Cheers Lee, digital high five and back flip!
Thanks for putting this up Lee, this is certainly an ideal time to improve on harp skills and I really appreciate you putting up new lessons.
Hi Ras, I'm making time to post some new lessons at the moment. More to follow tomorrow. Working on a new course too. Lee
The one and only! We love you Lee - pure gold lessons each time! Sharing the utter love for this little instrument
Thanks Ziva! Very kind. I'm aiming to post another lesson on timing skills tomorrow. I hope you are well. Lee
Thank you 🙏
Thank You Lee - you are truly a great man of harmonica, wonderful teacher, and person. Thank you for your generous sharing here, Jan
Very kind of you. Joe did all the work here though. Thanks for taking the time to listen and new episodes coming soon. Lee
@@leesankeygroup Thanks Joe too then!
Had to watch your vid bout 10x but finally got it! Man that is awesome and fun 😀🤟🏼
Glad it clicked in the end Mark. Sometimes you have to just persevere. Lee
I couldn’t get this trying to do the whole phrase then just took the 3D half step 2D chunk and practiced till I had that feel then went back to the whole riff...pretty effin cool!
Hey Mark, thanks for sharing how you got on with the exercise. Helpful for me and also interesting. This technique is subtle but very powerful. It's not as straightforward as it sounds. Glad you got in the end. I'm posting another lesson tomorrow which builds on this one. Cheers, Lee
Thanks for the post. I see you are playing the harp back to front and holding it with the opposite hand than everyone else I've come across. I picked up a harp and started just like that because I didn't know different and there is no way I can change now . I wondered if this would hold me back but after seeing you I realise it's not the grip that will hold me back, just my lack of skill and practice.
Good job of explaining it using your foot/hand example. I was listening to Bye Bye Birdie by Sonny Boy Williamson and he does this technique on the low end and while it is subtle it is extremely impactful! Thanks Lee!
Interesting, I'll go back and listen to that. Good spot. Sonny Boy Williamson is a fantastic example of a player who had fantastic phrasing. He made so much from a few notes. Lee
Very interesting video as usual ! thank you for all these lessons. nico from france
Digital High Five! Hope you are holding up o.k
I can see how timing can make a riff more interesting. I've noticed you emphasize timing a lot, and it does make more of a difference than I initially thought. I'm going to devote some time to this while all of "this" is going on. Thanks Lee!
Hey Jawan, timing is everything. I can't emphasise that enough. Glad to have inspired you to look at more closely. You'll see the difference timing skills make to your playing. It's the biggest area players overlook, and it is where the magic happens.
Nice lesson
Thanks for sharing this with us all
Day 6 Lockdown in France
Stay healthy you and yours
Thanks for watching Andy. This is a subtle technique but hopefully its power comes across. Keep well and hope you are managing to use the time productively, Lee
Lee Sankey
It’s the groove
The movement
Very important
Thanks again
Thanks for sharing. Well explained. Do you have any video on introducing a bit of filth/dirtyness on our playing? Kind of making double stops but not really... And maybe combining this and something else to make a richer and fuller sound. Yes, so, I am asking about the sound you make at the end of the video. It's nice. Thanks.
Glad you found this helpful. Thanks for suggesting a topic to cover. Great for me to know what people would like to learn and hear about. Tone and sound are subjects close to my heat and really the focus of my playing style. I'll have a think about a video on this, but off the bat I can say that a) tongue blocking will help and b) there aren't any easy shortcuts. Ultimately it's about time and practise. When I switch out of teaching mode into a playing mode at the end of the video, what you are hearing is the result of 32 years practise. I did not sound like that after 5 years, 10 years, 20 years or even 25 years. This is the beautiful thing about learning a musical instrument. The learning journey. The fact it is hard and unattainable is what makes it so rewarding. I am still learning and have so much to learn after all this time. Lee
@@leesankeygroup Yes. You are right. Thank you. It would be very nice if you have a little time to just make a kind of short intro. I was referring to the teaching part. I can hear a bit of this sort which to me makes the sound richer in tone. The playing demo of course is much more like real playing, let's say. Thanks as well for the demo. To me, even making it simple but a tiny bit interesting, is ok, and having the feel of the syncopated rythm is also very nice.
Did you reverse your comb? 😆Looks awesome!
When you have a chance to practice.....WHAT do you practice and HOW do you practice whatever it is?
Thanks for your question. This could make a good topic for a video. My practise has changed a lot over the years, especially when I stopped touring. When I do play I mostly play without backing. I.e. I don't play along with records too much like I used to. I play a lot of country rhythms which works great in that context. I'm always working on my tone, looking for "more". And there are always new techniques to try and learn. I'm trying to learn single hole splits which I find really hard for some reason. Playing 1st position in the high octave fully tongue blocked is also something I'm trying to improve. Lee
William Clarke
Thanks for the lesson Mr. Sankey is that a Hohner Crossover?
Hey, yep in C. I mostly play those and Marine Bands.
Are you tongue blocking or slapping those notes?
Yes. But you can get something similar on the lower register of the harp using LP, but that doesn't work so well as you move up the register IMHO. Lee
Lee Sankey oh I can TB 3 on up but the transition from 2LP to 3TB hangs me up just gotta practice it more 😀🤟🏼
Another fantastic lesson Lee. Thank you! What I love about your approach is that it appeals at all levels: intermediates and advances harpies who can bash out incredibly intricate stuff are still able to learn and improve tremendously from this because you have a unique way of 'formalising the intuitive', thereby allowing it to be adapted and varied. Your breakdown in this and the related vid at czcams.com/video/srlikuRyeNQ/video.html are excellent. It's interesting how going back to basics is so valuable in so many areas.
Thanks for the thoughtful comments harpmonk. Glad the subject comes across here in a practical way. I hope it unlocked some new doors for you. Lee