RE: Re: [Harp-L] overblow practice question

["Eric Neumann" <eneumann@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Garry Hodgson
Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2005 11:17 AM
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Re: [Harp-L] overblow practice question

"my experience as a now-intermediate player is that the more
i learn, the more other things i realize i still need to work on. OB's
are in that list, but it'll be awhile before they reach the head of it."

======>Eric writes:
Garry and others, actually, you might be surprised at how easily
learning to overblow can be folded into all the other stuff an
intermediate player feels they need to learn. In fact, I wish I was
aware of OB's 30 years ago when I was starting out as a dedicated
player.

No excuses please. =)

I tackled the OB problem. Been playin for a long time. I still have LOTS
of stuff to learn. I hit the OB's while doing other stuff too. In my
turtle pace, I can say, that I learned to squeek the 6ob in a few days
(again, self taught, reading 10-hole, this list, asking the pros for
advice) The thing you are really up against is time. It takes an
investment of time to get OB's into a place where you feel you can use
them in context to your style, and in front of an audience. Be patient.
I have confidence now after over a year or so, that I can take a stab at
riffing with an OB nowadays. I have seen other harp players get OB's
down a lot faster than me too. It might be *just* five minutes for some.
Not me.

But, I have to say - that learning to OB did not just involve *learning
to OB*... it involved also, setting the harp up for OB. Learning HOW to
play an adjusted harp... I was using a rougher attack prior to my
learning to OB... I had to also learn to OB using my U-Block technique,
AND the pucker technique.(oh, and I learned to throat vibrato, around
the same time - OB is harder).

SO now, I have come to the conclusion, that introducing these new tricks
to this old dog, was painless in retrospect, and I feel better as a
person - but not necessarily, do I feel I am a better musician for all
of it.

I'll continue to learn. I'll find the time in my usual regimine to
introduce these *new* things. I work on them daily. Oh, and I drive with
my knees on high mountain passes while playing... just to make this
email even more inflamatory than it needed to be.

I appreciate this list. Thanks.