[Harp-L] Hands and head



Hi all

I was wondering if any diatonic player on the list has used Douglas Tate´s book, "How to Play the Harmonica Well". To what extend do you think his ideas are applicable to the diatonic harp which is after all a very differnt instrument and much smaller and lighter. I have mostly learned in isolation and most harmonica books don´t go into much detail about breathing or position of the hand that holds the harp, to name only two topics that Tate´s book covers.
The worst limits to my technique have to do with movement, fast changes of direction etc. I cannot for example play all the exercises in Steve Baker´s "Harp Handbook" at the faster speed as cleanly as he does although I´m near. This must have to do with the way I hold the harp or the way I move it and I´m afraid I move my head just as much as the harp. Still it has seemed to me on video-clips that many very fast and very precise players move their head more than their harps but I woudn´t state it with certainty. What do you all think?
Anyway, has any diatonic player really studied and applied Tate´s ideas, even going into unlearning bad habits? I´ve played for twenty years and I´m not shure if I could easily change completely the way I hold the harp, the angle of the hand that holds it and (especially) start moving the harp exclusively, keeping the head stationary or almost stationary. 
A related issue; Is there complete agreement on the statement that head-shakes are better achieved by moving the head than the harp and are thus an exeption to the general rule? I find this to be true when tongue-blocking but I´m not shure of it when puckering.

Best regards,

JJBecher

 




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