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[Dauber]

Okay...some of you may remember that a while back I signed up for a "Chicago Blues Harp" class at the Old Town School of Folk Music here in...Chicago...and it got cancelled due to low enrollment. Well, I signed up for it again, and this time enrollment was through the roof, so the class is running.

They have four levels of Chicago Blues Harp, and of course my level is for absolute beginners, which I am. Some years ago for whatever reason I ran out and got a couple of harmonicas -- one in G, the other in E...

Anyhoo...this class requires a diatonic 10-hole in C, so after reading this forum and reviews, I decided on a Hoehner Marine Band.

So....this past Saturday we had our second class, and we're learning how to play single notes via tongue-blocking. Now, here's the thing...I can blow and draw on hole 5 and play a single note, but any other note, forget it. No matter what, I can't get fewer than two notes out at once. My instructor tells us that if we struggle, take it slower and easier, but that seems to make it even harder!

Just for S's and G's, I dug out my G harmonica, and I had ZERO problem playing a single note through ANY hole via tongue-blocking!

But here's the thing...I compared the two....the holes are lined up exactly the same on both -- if you stack my C and G harmonicas, the 1 hole of one harmonica is directly over the 1 hole of the other, the 4 hole of one is directly over the 4 hole of the other, etc...the difference: the holes in the G harmonica are WIDER. That's weird -- you'd think with wider holes, I'd have a HARDER time tongue-blocking a single note, not easier!

Now...while the C harmonica is a Hoehner Marine Band, the G one is a Special 20, and I know they're constructed slightly differently...I think the Special 20 has some heavy-duty plastic, but I'm pretty sure the reeds are metal just like the Marine Band, so I doubt that has anything to do with it.

Thoughts?? Tips?? Hints????

[Dauber]

Well, I guess my original post is now useless, as I'm now getting the hang of the single notes...I think my problem was a combination of holding the harmonica too close to my face and not positioning my tongue correctly, so I'm on my way!

What's weird, though, is that when I was practicing last night, I accidentally figured out how to bend notes on a few holes! It had a lot to do with my tongue positioning and a little bit of tongue bendage...and really, when you get a bent note out, things physically feel different....you can feel it in your lips, tongue, and teeth...