Header Graphic
Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > Lee Sankey Anyone?
Lee Sankey Anyone?
Login  |  Register
Page: 1

TBird
15 posts
Aug 12, 2013
12:49 PM
I'm really digging this guy. After all, the guy basically single-handedly taught me how to tongue-block via his terrific YouTube lesson series on the topic. Any other fans out there?

I mean... come on... this is just great:


Tom
SmokeJS
146 posts
Aug 12, 2013
1:00 PM
Working my way through the tongue blocking series. Someone mentioned a video per week as a good rate of speed but I'm finding the mateial is beginning to take a bit longer to get a grip on. Lee goes slowly it's just that things start to get a bit advanced at the half way point so time is needed. Lee has other subjects as well. One can pretty well jump into any as there are few prerequisites but tongue blocking made the most sense for me supplemented with one or two shorter series.
didjcripey
598 posts
Aug 12, 2013
2:47 PM
Apart from his timing, phrasing, dynamics and general musicality, what gets me is his tone:



----------
Lucky Lester
TBird
16 posts
Aug 12, 2013
6:36 PM
Amen Lester. His passion for great tone really shows through in his lessons.
Tweedaddict
91 posts
Aug 12, 2013
6:56 PM
Lee is a Killer Player.
And personally, I love the teaching technique,language, etc. Being from the 'motherland' makes me feel at home too! :)
Oxharp
543 posts
Aug 12, 2013
9:58 PM

----------
Oxharp
Loz123
16 posts
Aug 13, 2013
3:36 AM
He's a world class player, imo one of the best players on the seen at the moment.

Loz
The Iceman
1089 posts
Aug 13, 2013
7:36 AM
Notice how relaxed his grip, head, shoulders, etc are.

He is using all 20 energy credits towards tone/music.

----------
The Iceman
Frank
2618 posts
Aug 13, 2013
5:53 PM
Lee seems like a true gentleman...certainly a monster player and his teaching methods are some of the best I have ever come across!

I love that energy credit logic Iceman... this month- I think is the first time I've heard you discuss the energy credit concept...I remember learning about the bending floor concept from you back in the early 90's that pointed me in the correct direction and saved me from destroying harps unnecessarily... both concepts are excellent ways to think about those things - very helpful to my way of learning :)

Last Edited by Frank on Aug 13, 2013 5:56 PM
ridge
453 posts
Aug 14, 2013
4:00 AM
I stopped growing hair on my head like Lee so I could put one more energy credit towards tone.
The Iceman
1094 posts
Aug 14, 2013
5:43 AM
ridge..

better solution than mine. I used up 2 energy credits to grow taller than my hair.
----------
The Iceman
Stokes Bay Slim
17 posts
Aug 15, 2013
11:37 AM
I am a big admirer of Lee Sankey and have very much enjoyed his stuff on youtube. I have got his outstanding cd-"My Day Is Just Beginning", The Lee Sankey Group. On this he plays the most exquisite Chromatic Harp Blues/Jazz. I really hope that one day he will touch on his approach to the chromatic on youtube. A MIGHTY FINE PLAYER INDEED.
jackleg
3 posts
Aug 15, 2013
2:11 PM
he plays backwards harp, high to low, left to right... maybe, we all should???
SmokeJS
147 posts
Aug 15, 2013
3:13 PM
Lee uses his right hand to hold the harp and his left hand to cup. This matches holding the harp upside down so that he mirror images most harp players. A similar concept to the way Hendrix dealt with playing guitar left handed. Makes good sense to me. But looking at the videos Lee wears his watch on his left wrist like most right handed people. I'd guess he's ambidexterous which might explain why he's so good at tongue block switching.
jackleg
4 posts
Aug 16, 2013
4:12 AM
hendrix was left handed and left handed guitars were hard to find.. hendrix flipped the right handed guitar over and restrung it to conventional.. low 'e' on the top... lee plays the harp upside down.. top faceplate to the floor.
SmokeJS
148 posts
Aug 16, 2013
6:20 AM
jackleg is absolutelly correct. I think my comparison between the Hendrix solution and the way Lee plays is valid. In order to get the low end of the harp in the hand he holds the harp with, his right hand, he has to flip the harp over. So he's a mirror image of any other harp player if you disregard the engraving on the cover plates. Hendrix had to restring in order to get the low strings where they belonged. It wouldn't surprise me if Lee switches the coverplates around to keep harps looking the way they were itended to. All of this is a good thing as it makes watching Lee's videos easy. There was a thread somewhere not too long ago that asked if lefties should keep the harp oriented like right handed players. That would put the low end of the harp in their cupping hand. Most seemed to agree that was the way to go but I think Lee's solution is better as essentially he holds the harp and plays it just like anyone else. Only he plays better of course!

Last Edited by SmokeJS on Aug 16, 2013 7:09 AM
BronzeWailer
1111 posts
Aug 16, 2013
3:16 PM
I like his comments that it's not about playing harder or faster, but making music. Must remember...

BronzeWailer's YouTube
wolfkristiansen
200 posts
Aug 17, 2013
1:21 AM
Hello TBird--

In the last few years, there have been two harmonica lesson series I have followed, and learned from, on YouTube. One is Adam G's; one is Lee Sankey's. Both are world class players and good teachers. Not all are.

Apart from their technical abilities, they are musical. Hard to explain, but it makes a difference, for me at least.

I will not listen to, or try to learn from, an accomplished but unmusical teacher.

So-- cheers to you, TBird, for pointing us to Lee Sankey. You picked a good person to learn from. Check out Adam's videos to learn even more.

Cheers,

wolf kristiansen
jackleg
5 posts
Aug 17, 2013
9:23 AM
smokejs, since our posts, i have noticed that several great harp players flip the harp over. maybe they are left handed and, as you mentioned, find it easier to cup the mic. i also wonder if it alters the tone, since the draw notes are on the top?? i will have to give it a serious try..
harpburn
74 posts
Aug 17, 2013
10:21 AM
Didn't William Clarke flip the harp, or am I mistaken? I also have heard that you get a tighter seal with the harp gripped in the right hand, upside-down, as opposed to the left?
----------
-------------
myspace.com/mightynightjars

thenightjarsblues@gmail.com
SmokeJS
149 posts
Aug 17, 2013
1:08 PM
Cupping the mic is bound to be part of the equation. However I was thinking Lee wants the low notes near his right hand, the holding hand, just like most of us do. There the low holes tend to be covered up more. That leaves the high end of the harp a bit more in the open. Again, the way most of us play.

Last Edited by SmokeJS on Aug 17, 2013 1:08 PM
TBird
17 posts
Aug 18, 2013
8:44 AM
Yeah I'm with you Wolf. I've learned a lot from Adam G.--which is what lead me to this forum! I found Lee when I began pursuing the art of tongue blocking, and quickly found his teaching to be a wonderful complement to what I was learning from Adam.
harpburn
75 posts
Aug 18, 2013
4:45 PM
@SmokeJS

Yes, I know that, but I have heard that holding the harp in the right hand upside down has a tighter seal than holding it in the left, normal side up.
----------
-------------
myspace.com/mightynightjars

thenightjarsblues@gmail.com
SmokeJS
152 posts
Aug 19, 2013
2:18 AM
@harpburn Could be that's the case. Would harp design be a cause depending upon where it's vented? For instance a Special 20 doesn't have side vents on top or bottom so not likely impacted. But a standard MB is different. But if that was the case the solution would be to flip the coverplates. Simply having the reedplates flipped by itself would seem to me to likely have minimal impact but I have no practical experience to justify that.

Last Edited by SmokeJS on Aug 19, 2013 2:21 AM


Post a Message



(8192 Characters Left)


Modern Blues Harmonica supports

§The Jazz Foundation of America

and

§The Innocence Project

 

 

 

ADAM GUSSOW is an official endorser for HOHNER HARMONICAS