[Harp-L] Jerry Portnoy's Masterclass 3 CDs

["John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>]

Zvi,

It's pretty good as far as it goes.  Heavily focused on teaching  
traditional blues style playing with tongue lifts, especially on the  
first CD, but there's a lot of other useful stuff, too. You don't  
need to TB in order to learn many of the techniques Portnoy  
discusses, but some of it is definitely TB oriented.  Good  
instruction on draw bends and handling the 3 bends in draw 3.  Not as  
detailed on blow bends, as I recall.

No follow along written materials, which would have been nice, but  
the instruction on the CD is clear and understandable.  Doesn't  
contain very much that an advanced player would not already be  
familiar with, but there are quite a few useful little tips.  Nothing  
on how to achieve proper embouchure, the actual mechanics of tongue  
blocking, how to hold the harp or how to generate diaphragmatic air  
flow, except in the most general terms which, IMHO are fairly  
significant omissions.

Some of the techniques Portnoy spends a lot of time on are very  
specific to traditional blues playing and of limited utility for  
playing other styles of music, but one can filter through those parts  
if not interested in that style.  The CDs are remarkable for what is  
NOT discussed, but the instruction is pretty good on the topics that  
are covered. On the whole, the 3 CD set is pretty decent. Portnoy is   
a very skilled player and clearly explains the topics he covers.

Hope this is of some help.

JP