Disc 1: Jerry Portnoy's Blues Harmonica Masterclass

• Introduction: It’s going to be easy to listen to our teacher – his voice is pleasant.  Practice, patience, perseverence are his keys.  Your investment is going to tell the story of your progress.  

• Holding the Harmonica: Showing is better than telling when it comes to holding a harp.

• Chord Rhythm: Now we're getting into the meat of this first disc.  Jerry bases our work on this: Draw 1 – 3 chord. Blow 1 – 3. Draw 1 – 2.  Blow 1 – 3.  Got it?  That's our foundation.  Next step is to say, “hutta” while doing the  above chord work.  That’s his “soft T” instead of his “hard T.”   Next: Draw 1 – 2, Blow 1 – 3, repeat both . . . and add this little lick to the first one we did for variety.  Don’t go too fast and get mushy.  Speed it up to get a train sound.  This  chord rhythm will be an essential part of our work with JP.  So hold on to this stuff. 

• Tongue Blocking: “This is an absolutely essential element to having a professional sound” . . . uh oh.  Begin with Blow 1 – 4, and then Draw 1 – 4.  Should sound rich.  Throw your tongue up against the harp over 1 – 3 and force all your sound into the corner with the 4.  Spit your tongue forward quickly, right after your begin your blow or draw.  Next he teaches a scale with slapping your tongue . . . blow 4, draw 4, blow 5, draw 5, blow 6, draw 6 . . .  and back down.  Next is going for a more staccato sound with “open and closed syllables.”  Starts this with saying, “ha” and “ta.”  You see that “ha” is open at the front, and “ta” is closed at the front . . . and “hot” would be open at the front and closed at the end.  Next is top play without the tongue slap – just leave the tongue on the harp, no percussion from slapping the tongue on after briefly playing the chord.

• Changeover Scale: B 4, D 4, B 5, D5, B 6, D 6, D7, B 7, D 8, B 8, D 9, B 9.  He is teaching you how you have to switch over to drawing first when you get to 7.

• Syncopating Chords: “Ta” or “tuh” said after slapping tongue on hole 4. This is one part where I wish I had my harp in hnd.  Next do it with “ta-da.”  Next is adding another beat – triple tongue the chord by saying, “ta-da-kuh.”  Sounds busy now when he demonstrates the scale with this triple tongue.

• Back Rhythm: A technique for marking time.  Slap tongue the note . . . and maintain the note . . . and lightly back your tongue on and off.

• Octaves: Means you have two of the same notes, but one is higher than the other.  Now we are blocking with the tip of our tongue to cover 2 and 3, keeping 1 and 4 open for the octave.  2 and 5 is not a true octave, but it is useful in the blues.  Goes through all the material from the Tongue Blocking chapter but with the octaves now.  His teaching technique is speeding up now, assuming you are following along well.  His time spent above 6 runs counter to this blog.  When he gets to the 3/7, 4/8, 5/9, and 6/10 octaves, it sounds like a real stretch of the mouth.

• Simple Songs: “Mary Had A Little Lamb” and “Three Blind Mice” and “Oh, Susana.”  Demonstrates them with single notes and other techniques he has taught earlier.  No tab, of course.  Yes, he acknowledges these are not blues songs.  Just a demo – no encouragement to really play along.

• The Pursed Lips Method: Like you are going to say, “ooh.”  Start by just sliding up and down from 1 to 4, blowing and then drawing.  Avoid lip drag.  Single, pure notes is the goal.  You may be playing the 2 hole out of tune.   Works that same scale used above . . . now add the syllables used above to work up to the triple tongue.  When do we use Tongue and when do we use Purse?  His general rule is to purse 1 – 3 and then begin tongue block at 4 (so you can put a full chord under your lead note).  But he says that rule can be broken.

• Lip Blocking:  Need authority on Draw 2 since we resolve there.  Cutting off a chord with tongue blocking gives the power sound, but he has another way to achieve this – lip blocking.  Play draw 1 – 3 and then suddenly constrict lips to only have the 2 open.  Say “ta – oo” as we do this.  Now add “ta – doo” for more percussion.  Done to approximate the tongue block.

• 12 Bar Blues: Use what we have learned so for to play a blues chorus.  First four bars on one chord, next two bars on the fourth chord, return to the one chord for next two bars, ninth bar is five chord, tenth bar is return to fourth, and final two bars on the one chord.  E note for one – Draw 2.  Our four (A note) is our Blow 4.  Five (B note) is Draw 4.  Say “ta – doo” during the Draw 2 and add rhythm four times to get our first four bars.  For the four chord, slap tongue to get that Blow 4.  For the ninth bar five chord, slap tongue the Draw 4 and do your rhythm.  Back to the origin for the last two bars.  When Jerry demonstrates, yes, it sure sounds like a neat little blues.  I wish I had the harp now.  Next he teaches the turnaround in the Draw 1.  As he makes it more complicated, it’s hard to follow his verbal instructions – says he is going to vary it up and you can’t quite follow.  Ends by saying it’s now time to learn how to bend notes and that’s really going to open up the possibilities for blues playing.

• Overall: I’m glad I know what I already know ‘cause he moves pretty fast.  It’s different to begin a blues harp lesson without any single note “Mannish Boy” riffing.  No riffing – just rhythm work that allows you to play the blues.  He gives you flexibility in the way you can do what you do with different syllables and different timing/phrasing.  My favorite part of this first disc is Jerry's Lip Blocking segment -- cutting off the chord fast and using the syllables.