@marshallgarrettnz5 Welcome to the forum!
Hi all,
Beginner here… Able to isolate notes pretty well just having trouble with the bends. U-blocker, not a lip purser…. I can play simple tunes(without bends) but really looking to work on blues riffs.. Luke’s videos have been extremely helpful but im getting frustrated! lol
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Hey Luke, big fan! Glad to be in tune! Looking forward to accomplishing a life long goal here that started with the blues brothers.
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Hey @Midnight_Rambler yeah that’s the thing about U-blocking in my experience with folks who use it, they always get stuck with bending. Very hard to keep that shape with the front of the tongue and still do the things needed to bend. Not impossible, as proven by Norton Buffalo and Terry McMillan, but hard. BTW - learning bending is also a slower slog with Tongue Blocking as well. That’s why I teach lip blocking first. Most people (though not all) can get single notes using it, and then bending is much easier when you get there. Not sure what the best path forward is for you, but very glad you’ve joined the forum! Rock on! 
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@bgomp7 Welcome to the forum my friend. Well we share the rich heritage of inspiration from the Blues Brothers!! Lines from that movie are like mantras in my family. 
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Hi Luke, team and fellow harpists.
I had some initial issues finding the icon to enable a comment. Thanks to Jason for helping me find my way around.
I have completed your great course B2B with MANY notes both written and played.
I am retired (75) and live on the south west coast of Victoria Australia.
During the course I picked up the various harps in LO and S20, as you do. 
! I was the guy who picked up that 1/2 price LowF Thunderbird. A soulful beastie it is!! Just love the syncopated blues you have taught, thanks again for the journey.
Cheers & happy harping
Craig
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@charrison01 Right on Craig! Thanks so much for sharing this and for joining the forum. So glad to have ya here. Rock on!
Well this is my first post to the forum and I really enjoy reading from other harp players. I’m a young 62 from Winnipeg Canada, and started the harmonica just over a year now. I took Luke’s Beginner to Boss course which was alot of fun and kept me engaged.
Wanting more I joined Jon Gindick’s Harp club - the Harmonica for the Musically Hopeless was well worth it. His emphasis on 10 major rifts and how to bend was instrumental in progressing over the 12 bar blues.
I have just finished Will Wilde’s Ultimate Blues Soloist courses. Will’s way of teaching is great! Learning the nuances, rhythm and training by ear rather than just going off riffs really helped get me to the next level. His way of practicing scales and call and response is so much fun. I definitely recommend this course to any beginner or intermediate harp player that wants to improve their skills.
I never took music lessons growing up, but the route that I’ve taken I’ve learned a lot. I can now improvise comfortably over 12 bar blues tracks. I’m still having a little bit of trouble picking up different keys of a song but hey, I’m slowly getting there.
I started playing an assortment of songs and have some on Youtube with Lyrics and Harmonica tabs. Juke, Hallelujah, rocking Robin, Love me do, Hit the Road Jack, Heart of Gold, Ring of fire, to name a few.
A couple of questions;
I have a couple of Hohner Blues Harps with the wooden comb - they seem harder to slide than the Special 20’s (especially when tongue blocking). Are they more suited for chords?
Also, I find when I’m tongue blocking during a longer song the saliva builds up a lot more than when I do lip pursing, is that common or am I doing something wrong?
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1.) No they’re tuned exactly the same. Both are excellent for chords. And yes, plastic comb much easier to slide and easier on tongue.
2.) This is common! All you can do is have some water to sip from time to time, and most importantly look up slightly! (Never down!)
Hope that helps.
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Hi, I am Tom. I am 81 and live in Mesa, Arizona. I have always wanted to a harmonica, but my dogs voted “No”. I have been playing for two years since my new dog said “$okay.”, I already have a lot of harmonicas. When I jump in, I go all the way overboard. Enjoying the lessons, have learned a lot.
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Hello chaps,
4 months after picking up the harmonica for the first time I now have 19 diatonics and a Chromonica… I need help! 
Seriously though, I love these little machines and just can’t seem to put them down.
If theres one thing I need help with right now it’s how to pronounce embrochueuoueor. Aside from that, I’m doing alright I suppose. I’m starting to hit bend notes in tune and without conciously thinking about how to position my mouth and tongue which is awesome.
The thing i appreciate most about the harmonica is how it’s introduced me to the Blues; a genre I’ve never paid attention to before now and wow I’ve been missing out.
Thanks for the welcome Luke and thanks for reading this guys, love yas all from Australia.
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@nazgul113044 I’m the same way when I’m in I’m in LOL. @Beckham I also need help I have bought so much gear it’s crazy. I just got my first Chromatic the other day and my first low key in F too. I also can’t pass up a good deal on a amp or microphone I just got an older Realistic microphone unfortunately a wire is broken on it cause I accidently dropped it but I should be able to resolder it back together. anyway enjoy the journey with us fellow harmonica lovers.
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Don’t worry @Beckham , you are among friends here. We might not be able to help curb your buying habits, but we can at least understand. LOL!
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The spelling is doing my head in, let alone the pronunciation. I have a problem with too many songs rather than too many harmonicas so I can’t help you with that either. You could look for a therapist, but most forum members wouldn’t see it as a problem. There are a few Aussies here, but we’re outnumbered.
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Hello, JFK
from Port Saint Lucie Florida I have an echo harp that sounds beautiful ! Was wondering if it has a date of manufacture and what the emblems say and its meaning ??? 
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@nazgul113044 welcome to the forum! I’m so glad your new dog has agreed! Glad you’re digging the lessons. Rock on!
@Beckham “Ahm-buh-shure “ Wow you’re progressing so fast! Congratulations on your progress! Can’t have too much of a good thing, right?
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Hi @JFK I think @Boaz_Kim_Music might have some answers for ya?
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Right you are. I used to fill my hour and a half long druve to and from work listening to music - now I make my own, or try to at least. Practice practice practice 
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Too many songs is an issue for me also and if I keep buying these things I’ll have a harp for each and every one of them. That’s…..
Thousands
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Hopefully my beautiful wife is just as understanding and doesn’t take the kids when she finds out I’ve sold the house to support my habit
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