BONUS: Learn how to play Ian Dury's "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" on the blues harmonica
With
Mat WalklateMat Walklate teaches Ian Dury's 'Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll' on a C diatonic harmonica, using tongue blocking and bends in second position.
What's in the course
11 lessons (1h 4m) · 2 free
01. Playing the blues, a demonstration
Free lesson2:14
02. G blues scale review
2:31
03. Note bending for additional notes
9:12
04. Simple 12 bar solo
3:50
05. Soloing using the root note of blues progression chords
5:57
06. Vibrato
6:37
07. Developing more interesting solos
7:43
08. Advanced tongue blocking
10:22
09. First position blues scales
5:48
10. Third position blues scales
6:22
11. BONUS: Learn how to play Ian Dury's "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" on the blues harmonica
You are here3:36
Lesson transcript
Harmonical Course Introduction
Hello, my name is Matt.
I've just finished recording a harmonica course for musicgurus.com and I'm going to play you a little tune.
Now, this tune involves a lot of the techniques that you can find out about in this course, such as:
- Tongue blocking
- Note bending
The Tune: Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll
The tune is called Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll.
So, to play Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll on your diatonic harmonica:
- We're in second position.
- We're playing in the key of G on a C harmonica.
Technique Breakdown
I'm starting off using the tongue blocking technique on:
- Number four, draw.
If you slow it down, what you hear is:
"1, 2, 3, 4 draw altogether."
Then, 1, 2, and 3 are cut off by the tongue.
Next, you go to:
- Five blow
- Five draw
- Five blow again
- Four draw
- Four blow
- Three draw
Each time you're playing a chord and then blocking the chord off.
The next part of the song starts the same way, going up to six blow, which is the same as the first part.
Ending the Tune
To finish off that last part, I've stopped doing the tongue blocking because I find it easier to get the two bends on hole number three by going back to lip pursing.
Some people can do it with tongue blocking. Fair play to them, but I prefer lip pursing.
Last Bit Breakdown
- Tongue slap, four draw.
- Tongue slap, four blow.
- Going back to lip pursing for:
- Three draw
- Two draw to finish.
Putting It All Together
So, to put it all back together again at a slow pace, let's try again.
To put it all together at a slow pace, a little bit faster, like so.
So, head over to musicgurus.com for a free download of the tab and to look at the rest of my harmonica course.
11 lessons
1h 4m of structured video lessons
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Meet your guru
Meet your guru
Mat Walklate is a Manchester-based harmonica player and teacher working in blues and folk, who also plays flute, whistle and uilleann pipes and sings. He won the British Blues Harmonica Championship in 1992 and the All-Britain Fleadh Cheoil on harmonica in 1993, and is a Seydel-endorsed artist.
Over a thirty-year career he has toured Europe with bands including The Moochers and the Irish-music group The House Devils, recorded and mixed some fourteen albums between 2001 and 2021 - among them Sea of Blues and Traditional Harmonica - and now performs in a duo with singer-guitarist Alex Haynes and alongside blues scholar Dr Tom Attah. He teaches harmonica at Leeds Conservatoire and privately.
On MusicGurus his courses take you from your first notes on a C harmonica - embouchure, the cross-harp position, bending and your first improvisation - through to fluent blues playing, with vibrato, alternative positions and the phrasing that makes a solo sing.
