[Harp-L] Re: U blocking, embouchures



That's a pretty well-rounded point of view Daniel, and pretty much what I tell  students too. I usually add that I do not recommend the u-block method, but advise nevertheless to use 'whatever works' for the individual. I have never deliberately used the 'u-block' method; I'll add here that I agree with you about the actual practice being different from how it is usually described, and that the tongue "stays on the bottom rail of the mouthpiece"
So how do I know if I don't use it? Well, to tell the truth, I find myself using it from time to time by default; sometimes when I am playing high notes that are tending to be difficult, I find that I am doing exactly this. I don't know why it helps, but it does. The rest of the time I am tongue-blocking/switching & puckering.
RD

>>> Damien Masterson <dzm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 19/05/2008 6:39 >>>
Hey All,

     Just chiming in.

     There's quite a bit of controversy around embouchures, not any less
with the chromatic harmonica.

      I use a form of embouchure that could be called U block, or  
channel blocking.
It doesn't in any way look like someone rolling their tongue like when  
people try to
show how to do it. The tip of my tongue stays on the bottom rail of  
the mouthpiece, and I
articulate the air with either my teeth on my tongue or epiglottal  
stops, like when you make a "coo" sound.
There's other stuff involved, but I try not to think about it too  
much. I came to this approach through
thousands and thousands of hours of practice, trial and error, and  
emulating different instruments.
I wouldn't sell a technique book pushing this embouchure, but I always  
show my students what it
looks and sounds like.

    I've run into lots of players with strong opinions about "the  
right way" to play the instrument. I would be weary
of anyone trying to impress their approach, and only that approach, on  
a new student. It's just not fair. Even
if a student tries to emulate everything exactly the way their teacher  
or idol does it, there are no guarantees.
I learned this the hard way with the saxophone: Everybody has their  
own sound. You can buy all the same gear
and even marry your idol's widow, you're still going to sound like  
you. We all have different mouths and bodies,
and they make a big difference.

     As Robert said, for any approach, there are advantages and  
disadvantages. I feel that with my approach,
I have a fuller sound, a thicker tone, and more expressive control  
than many players; but at the expense of speed, and in some cases,
dynamic control. If I want to play a fast staccato passage, I have to  
switch to pucker, which alters my tone.
If I want to play harmonic octaves or wide intervals, I have to use  
tongue blocking. If I wanted to play a very fast succession of rising  
or falling
octave intervals, I would have to practice my corner switching more,  
like Robert tried to teach me years ago!

     When I teach beginning students harmonica, I never teach them  
that one embouchure is better than the other.
I tell them each one has its merits and shortcomings, that they should  
experiment and find the one they are most comfortable with.
I also tell them that, inevitably, as the late Doug Tate used to say,  
they should "learn all of them"!

     Most instruments have different schools of how to approach them,  
in classical and jazz/pop. Ask around, get different perspectives.
Ask yourself what your strengths and weaknesses are, and once you've  
exhausted the possibilities through practice, try someone
else's ideas too. The more open minded you are in music, the more  
possibilities will exist for you.

Thanks guys

D


Damien Masterson http://www.damienmasterson.com 
or enter my name in any search engine
http://www.myspace.com/damienmastersonmusic 
http://cdbaby.com/all/damienzm 
415 305 7138 dzm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
Damien Endorses Hohner Harmonicas and Audix Microphones


On May 17, 2008, at 8:01 AM, harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Message: 12
> Date: Sat, 17 May 2008 08:10:16 -0400
> From: Robert Bonfiglio <BON@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] U-blocking
> To: "john" <jjthaden@xxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: dennis moriarty <dmoriarty@xxxxxxxxxx>, harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
> Message-ID: <AD4BBA77-7B30-43E4-AB05-0AF0560172F2@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Content-Type: text/plain;	charset=US-ASCII;	delsp=yes;	format=flowed
>
> Dear John,
>
> I actually said I use u-block and sometimes whistle position for the
> center part of a left-center-right switch and also to play all three
> notes at the same time, i.e., A-D-A which is the octave with the
> forth in the center.  The u then covers the B and the F.  I use that
> center corner switch in the Tcherepnin Harmonica Concerto to play
> legato from left to center to right.
>
> The U-Block does color the sound making it difficult to get the deep
> sound of the corner, my sound, or the round sound of the center,
> Toots' sound, but I find playing the pinched sound, Stevie's sound,
> easier in U-Block.
>
> My point about U-Block is that as a main embouchure it takes away the
> tongue switching and the use of tongue articulation that you get from
> tongue block and whistle respectively.  It makes certain things,
> especially for the student, harder to do and my whole way of playing
> the harmonica is take the easiest route and spend more time making
> music and less time on technique.
>
> Start a student in tongue block or whistle and the road is easier  On
> diatonic I find the highest notes easier to play on the right in
> tongue block, but I mainly use whistle.  On the chromatic, I am
> finding more and more use of the left side on low notes.
>
> I remember once at Toots' apartment in New York playing "When Sunny
> Gets Blue" and using a corner switch.  He said, "Your'e switching
> corners" and I said yes.  He said "I don't do that."   But just
> imagine if he did!!!
>
> Harmonically yours,
>
> Robert Bonfiglio
>
> http://www.robertbonfiglio.com 
>
>
> On May 17, 2008, at 2:14 AM, john wrote:
>
>> Larry and Dennis,
>>    I'm a u-blocker too.  U-blocking has been discussed a lot in
>> the past (see archives) and I've chimed in then as well.  From
>> those exchanges, I learned that there are a few u-blockers who play
>> with a real tongue-curl, and in at least one case, with the curl
>> very tight, just like a straw, but as you both point out, not all
>> do, and neither do I.  There is a misconception that, if a person
>> can't curl their tongue, then they can't u-block; this is just
>> plain wrong.  A student I taught coudn't curl, but picked up u-
>> blocking easily from me and really ran with it.  But, as do I, he
>> also uses regular tongue-blocking (out of both the left and right)
>> and lip-blocking.  I'm probably about 80% u-blocking.
>>     I have a slightly different way of describing what happens
>> with my tongue.  The way I think of it, because the tip is on the
>> mouthpiece (or even the cover plate) below the played hole(s), the
>> tongue simply can't block those holes, if the tongue is then
>> pressed forward gently, it mashes up against the remaining holes,
>> forming a relaxed U shape.  Some u-blockers tip the harp down into
>> the U (as  many lip-blockers do into their lower lip); I don't, and
>> I think the reason why is that my embouchure is pretty deep and I'd
>> have to open my jaw wider (teeth further apart) to accomodate a
>> tipped harp.
>>     As Larry points out, u-blockers can experience some
>> criticism.  In past discussions, this has included strong advice
>> against u-blocking from at least one professional player and
>> teacher, the confirmed tongue-blocker/corner-switcher/spit-
>> articulator Robert Bonfiglio.  Paraphrasing as best I recall,
>> Robert felt u-blocking was inferior and unnecessary.  I argued that
>> it provides a "third corner" (the center), without having to pull
>> the harp partway out of the mouth (as for lip-blocking), but he
>> didn't buy that.  Works for me, anyway.
>>     Speaking of articulation, I'd be interested to know you the
>> two of you do it, e.g., produce a string of notes of the same
>> pitch.  I use a modified "t", but made by making contact with the
>> upper palate (edge between hard and soft) using a part of the
>> tongue well back from the tip (The tip obviously is otherwise
>> occupied.).  It's pretty fast, and (unlike some consonants used
>> during lip-pursing, but much like a tongue-blocker's side-of-tongue-
>> with-cheek articulation) it doesn't do wild things with the timbre
>> of the note (e.g., ugly wah-like effects).
>>      Dennis, I agree with you that a real strength of u-blocking
>> is how incredibly strong and controllable long notes are,
>> particularly, the pitch of bent notes.  Bending is so darned
>> precise, I think exactly because it does ~not~ involve tongue
>> movements.  Larry, I have a different conception of how bends and
>> overblows happen than your description of changes in the angle of
>> the airflow, a conception solidified when I read 10 years ago the
>> description of the harmonica-playing interface developed by Drs.
>> Bahnson, Antaki and Beery (www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/antaki/articles/ 
>> Bahnson%20JASA%201998.pdf).  Their device changes the ratio of the
>> chamber volume directly behind the reed (in a human player, the
>> mouth and upper throat cavities) to the area of the constriction
>> behind that chamber (in a human player, formed at any of several
>> points, understandable by thinking about the stop consonants "g"
>> and "k", the Germanic "ch" as in "achtung", throat clearing, and
>> gargling).  But I do !
>> agree that this ratio can be controlled quite nicely with u-
>> blocking.  There are exceptions:  on really low harps (say from a
>> low D down to a double-low F), I can bend deeper using lip-pursing
>> than either tongue-block embouchure; I can overblow better while
>> lip-pursing; and some "talked" rhythms work better lip-pursing.  I
>> use regular tongue blocking for all non-adjacent double-stops
>> (except when I need to block just one hole, where I use a hybrid
>> tongue/U-block); for a lot of corner-switching, and for some tongue-
>> slap effects, though u-blocking is great too for percussive tonguing.
>>     Dennis, you asked Larry for recordings or a web page.  I'd
>> like to hear that too.  FYI, I can be heard on harp and vocals at
>> http://mikedollins.biz on a CD entitled "Live, Love Laugh".  I had
>> to lay the harp tracks onto bass and drums with no scratch vocals
>> or anything else, which is rather crippling for a guy used to
>> trying to make singers sound good live, plus, there are some weird
>> synchrony issues with the harp track on at least one cut, but you
>> can pretty much hear what I do.  You'll see I'm a good bit behind
>> the times, technically, and am working hard to catch up (thanks
>> Jason Ricci for your Youtube stuff!).  I too have wondered if I'm
>> slowed somewhat by u-blocking vs. puckering, but it's too early in
>> my renewed woodshedding phase to tell.

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