RE: Like to learn (Portnoy Masterclass)

["Jervis Groeneveld" <jervis@xxxxxxxxxx>]

- --- In harp-l-archives@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Garry Hodgson
<garry@xxxx> wrote about the Jerry Portnoy 3CD set:
> while i think the masterclass is excellent, i think
> it's a bit over the head of a beginner.  
To which Jp Pagan said:
> huh. i've never heard that before. i'd be interested
> to hear what others think. 

My experience that the 3CD set is great, and that for absolute beginners
it puts the emphasis on tongue blocking too much. And yes: Jerry
promotes both tongue blocking and puckering, but somehow people are more
inspired by the possibilities of the tongue block (and they should) and
start to work on that technique first and then have a hard time. To be
clear: I just love the CD set, it meant a big breakthrough for my
playing (especially the tongue blocking!) but I found out that beginners
tend to miss the possibility of playing/puckering simple melodies while
focused on tongue slaps etc.