Playing upside down worked for Sonny Terry and Paul Butterfield.

Jerry,

I've heard some guys say that they play, exclusively with tongue blocking, while they hit single notes, and also, while they bend single notes, what is your take on this?  Do you ever bend single notes, while tongue blocking? Have you ever heard from any of the big players, that they bent single notes like that?

Tony Hollywood

 I would like to say, I've been a Jerry Portnoy fan since I was about 15 years old, when I bought my first blues albums. One of the first albums I bought was, King Bee, I absolutely loved that album. The harmonica playing on that record, along with some other live cassettes, I got my hands on, also featuring Jerry Portnoy, caused me to get my first harmonica. For the last 22 years, I've been listening to any Jerry Portnoy recording I've found. A few years ago I bought the master class cd lessons and I recommend that any level harmonica player, buy it for themselves, it is of invaluable help. This site is a dream come true, literally for me because i have actually dreamt of getting harmonica lessons from Jerry Portnoy. 

Thanks Jerry! Big Walter is my favorite of the pioneering harp blowers. I especially love his first position playing like on Hard Hearted Woman, and Trouble In Mind.  My best, Allen

I have only tongue blocked my entire life, have trouble bending though and my draw notes sometimes stick, so I should learn lip pursing as an addition to, not a replaceent to tongue blocking?  Lip pursing more on draw notes?

any word on how Ronnie Earl is doing these days?  haven't heard anything in a while, ok sorry about all the questions, I'll go away now lol, ps playing any shows in the los angeles area again any time soon?  last time saw and talked to you at that outdoor Hollywood and Highland show last year, Vince

wondering how you and Jimmie seem to be able to use capos without going out of tune, any tips for how to pull that off, capo brand, techniques, etc?  Vince

I've never forgotten this Jimmie Vaughan interview where he was raving about one night seeing a Duke show where you did something with your guitar, lifting it up and blowing into the pickups to get some weird unearthly sound, and was wondering what the????  might have to ask him about that one in a few weeks, my band Idle Hands opens up a show for Jimmie at the Canyon Club Sept. 27th, dream come true

that is one badass Duke song, I remember seeing a live version at Cozy's in la where at the end there was some wild over-driven soloing that didn't even sound like a guitar, more like a hammond with leslie, wild stuff, the turnaround is the coolest, lesson that one?  Vince

I really dig it when the acoustic guitar is with a fiddle, like on the old Muddy Waters or Charlie Patton songs.  The sound of the violin witht he guitar has a nice vocal sound to it.  I also like the harp, but you hear it so much more than the fiddle.  My favorite blues fiddle players are Henry Sims and Howard Armstrong.

I posed this question on the MBH forum but I thought I'd ask here as well to get the experts' opinion. I've started playing out a bit - some jams, but also a couple of times where a friend has called me up to play with his band at a gig. He plays harp but also guitar, and we've done Red Rooster both times with him on guitar. That worked pretty well - not that I was great, but I know the song well enough to sound okay. Last night he asked me to also play with him on Billy Boy Arnold's great song "I Wish You Would," and he played harp. This presented a couple of issues. While I used to listen to this song a lot and play along, I haven't done it in a long time. So, first, I really didn't know it, and, second, my friend is one of the best harp players in the Northwest so I probably wasn't going to sound too good playing the same thing as him. What I tried to do was to do fills in between his solos for the most part. That kind of worked (no one threw anything), but was pretty limited. Also, this didn't seem to me to be the kind of song where you can play a lot of chords to complement another harp. Would playing another position have worked, perhaps first (he was in second)? I mess around with this sometimes - playing third position on Sonny Boy's "My Younger Days" sounds good along with his second position, and same goes for Gary Primich's "Save It Up For Me." Any suggestions?

Thanks. Rich

I wanna add my 2 cents and and and beg Duke to do some Hollywood Fats songs, riffs, licks, etc. soon, pleez! Rock this House, She's Dynamite, Kansas City, Side-tracked, on and on......

Thanks for your response. Harvey

Hi Harvey,

The answer to your first question is, yes, I am tongue blocking as I initially hit the 7 blow. As to why the draw notes seem to stick when you're back tongueing or slapping, I am not really sure. It may be something in the embouchure or the way you're drawing those notes too hard that produces some strain and causes the note to stick. Try to relax your throat on those draw notes.

Jerry,

I am very much enjoying learning Jug Band Waltz.  The melody is charming, even when played without all the embellishments. I also enjoy playing in first position, for a change. I am to the point now that I can back tongue the rhythm parts, but I am stil struggling to incorporate the tongue roll and the draw equivalent.  The hand vibrato is going to come in later, when eveerything esle is in muscle memory. I have two queries.  First, when you tongue roll on the blow notes, are you switching to tongue blocking as you initially hit the 7 hole blow or do you wait until you slap tongue the first back beat rhythm note?  I can't tel from the recording.  Second query: how can I avoid freezing up some of my draw notes when I back tongue or tongue slap my way through the song?.  Frequently, I find my 5 hole draw soon refuses to play, sometimes other of my draw notes, as well. I have to stop playing and fuss with the instrument for a few minutes until all is clear.  Any suggestions?

 Harvey Kail

Alrighty..see ya Friday night! Rob's road tip: skip the cheescake factory and go over to Bonta...you will eat better and it is road worthy safe and tasty. I have not eaten at Viper Alley so I wil not opine. My wife and I am looking forward to it. I'd love to hear a Freddie King instrumental BYW.  you play the hell out of those and my wife is crazy about him....

I second this one.  Great tune, groove and solos.  I like how Duke and Ronnie leave space between their lines and give the groove some room to breath.

Hi Allen,

I believe almost all the top players use a combination of lip pursing and tongue blocking, Walter being no exception. As to his tone: first of all, he had a very subtle fast vibrato that was sometimes nearly subliminal but gave his notes an almost glowing quality. The other factors were an ability to alter his embouchure to make very distinctive changes in the sounds of his note from bassier to more treble and last, but certainly not least, his tongue blocking had a snap and percussive quality that was truly extraordinary. I heard him play solo many times in his room and, believe me, it was one of the great natural sounds I ever heard come from a harmonica. 

Best,                                                                                                                                                            

Jerry

Dear Duke,

You are one of my most cherished and favourite blues artistes.  Wow you really cook,  and without sounding racist - man you don't sound white!!!!  One of my absolute favourites from your many brillaint works would have to be west side shuffle.   PLEASE  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do a breakdown lesson on this. Much obliged. 

Duke,

        I have a request for Flyin' Home!!!!!!

Hi Jerry,

I'm new to the site but I'm already loving it! Regarding Keys and tones, I can confess that my main issue is to fast identify the music key. Always when I start to play with other mates ou in a Gig, the music starts and I start to try some harps until if find the one that best fits into the music (usually I go on 2nd position but sometimes on 3rd). The fact is that I feel less confident on stage because I'm always unsure about the right pitch. Do you have any advices and probably exercises to do to improve that ability?

Best regards,

Rafael

Alex - I recently busked in Melbourne, Australia, only to be told later that it is illegal unless you have a permit. Technically, I assume that busking involves tips (asking for money), while playing music in a public place is probably legal in most places as long as you are not soliciting tips or blocking a sidewalk.

In truth, I never thought about it much here - I just go somewhere and play, and do not expect money.

I misunderstood :) Sorry, english is not my mother language and we italians have a very bad educational system on the teaching of foreign languages ...I'd like to start this experience of busking. I just found at home a little amplifier I bought many years ago and I remember it wasn't workin..it's a GF-15 I think and it's really bad!! ^__^...So I put a new bettery and It workes...little but he can do his honest job...I put the volume too much high it sounds like a mosquito...For the beginning it's enough also because I'd like to experience how much money I can do, find the right places where to play (a nice natural riverbero helps a lot) and expecially see how will be the situation with the police...Buskin here in Italy is generally illegal but you can find really nice cops that close one eye if you are a good musician ;) On the other hand if you meet the wrong person you may get fined ad your instruments seized. Where do you come from? States? How is the law other there...I think it's different state by state :))

Ciao Alex - I actually think the Pignose is a good little amp - I was just trying to say that it won't be as loud as the others because it has a smaller speaker. But you can get them for less money. The smallest amp I have is called a "Smokey" - it was sized to fit into a cigarette package, and runs on one 9V battery. Definitely not loud enough for busking, but I have tried :-)

Ciao|||| :))   thanks you so much for all the informations....at the end the best choice should be the Roland that also here in Italy is easier to find!! I like the Crate Tax series but  the high shipping cost at the end take the price too high comparing to Roland...

I expected your kind of comments about pignose...I had the sensation that it was a product famous for the label rather then.....