[Harp-L] Re: Lee Sankey on Big Tone

Great video.

I focus on playing from my throat. Learning to tongue-block lead to that discovery. Opening everything up, visualizing a big, wide tube from out BEYOND the harmonica (or when playing amplified, from the face of the mic) all the way back to my throat, then down into me innards. That's what I teach my students, as well.

More than anything else (even embouchure), the difference between players with good tone versus players with mediocre tone is this component.

(There are numerous advantages to employing the throat that involve technique and effects, but that's another discussion).

My own personal opinion is that puckers sound thinner (MOST, not ALL) than their tongue-blocking brethren. HOWEVER, once the discovery of the throat is made and puckers motivate the instrument from that point, the gap between differences in embouchure narrows considerably. In SOME cases, it is gone altogether.

I teach my students that they should consider their throat as their new lips. Understanding that their lips are just a juncture (albeit an important one) to the system. Too many of my students come in wheezing and squeaking and sqwaking trying to play through their lips from the mouth cavity. Poor guys (and ladies) turn beet red and are often "whistling" the harmonica as they make their lips the central point from which they generate their music.

I cannot with any degree of consistency illustrate playing fully from my lips/mouth in order to demonstrate a thin, mouth tone. Over the years, employing my throat has become a natural, instinctive and intuitive part of my playing. I find it difficult, if not impossible, to disengage it fully.

When properly employing the throat, the lower, larger cavity behind the throat offers a profound improvement over the smaller mouth and nasal cavity. Players begin to discover their individual greater resonance here.

If the harmonica is considered a component, one cannot dismiss the effects of other components WHEN PLAYING AMPLIFIED.

In this regard, mic handling technique is crucial. I've heard many players with good acoustic tone who sounded weak and thin, and merely louder, due to poor mic technique.

One must accept that the system is now extended to the mic/hand interface, and the hands must now take a modified form to accept that interface and exploit it's advantages. With proper technique, exploiting proximity effect and overloading the element with resonance can offer a wide palette of effects and sounds, and can emphasize tone. Without that experience, the player is merely louder. Please note that proximity effect will always occur in varying degrees not matter the level of understanding and ability. However, the better the technique, the better the exploitation of that phenomenon.


Also, it's important to continue playing from the throat no matter the physical position on the harmonica. Not only on different harmonicas, but also on different PARTS of the harmonica. I would always look to optimize tone on the higher pitched reeds within a particular key harmonica, not just the low-pitched reeds.



Ray Beltran.
--
My Music – www.resgraphics.com/music
My YouTube – www.youtube.com/raybee127
MySpace – www.myspace.com/bluemax503


On MondayAug 30, 10, at 5:11 AM, harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:

Message: 14
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:15:52 +0200
From: Beno?t FELTEN <benoit.felten@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Lee Sankey on Big Tone
To: Harp-L <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
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Lee Sankey has just released a small but great tuition video on achieving
deep blues acoustic
tone<http://www.musicalramblings.com/2010/08/swallow-your- notes.html>on
the diatonic.

It's simple, full of good advice and worth giving a look at!

There are few people out there that have that deep a tone, so he's worth
listening to IMO if you want to achieve that kind of sound.


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