Playing Single Notes

Pretty soon you’ll have mastered chord playing will want to progress on to picking out single notes to form melodies, licks or improvised lines. The two methods that are used to play single notes are ‘Puckered Lips’ and ‘Tongue Blocking’, some argue that you get a better tone from one than the other but I wouldn’t worry too much about this now, rather find out which method you find most comfortable and workable. Again Experiment with both, because each method can be used in different situations.

Puckered Lips

Is simply what it says, just pucker up your lips as if to whistle or drink from a straw, the hole you make should be just right to cover one hole of the harp. This method is probably the most widely used, is precise and can be used with all the advanced bending techniques.

Tongue Blocking

Is like playing a chord but using your tongue to block out all the notes except for one, which may be at either side of your mouth. This technique is also used for playing octaves and is great for combining single notes and chords.

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