Tired lips and practice ...

[<shankar@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi
There was a post reg tired lips after much harping. I had this
problem when I was learning bending - when I would practise upwards
of 2 hrs at a stretch and it hurt - sometimes the muscles would
just refuse to obey my brain. I think it was a combination of
poor technique, bad harps ( I have to bash the Modular Series
Blues Harp if I get a chance ) and getting 'browned out'.
THe last is common to all musical instruments ( I had the
same problem when learning some difficult guitar licks )
and it just means you need to take a break and do something
else for a while. Now, with my Marine Bands, my lips almost
never hurt -  but I suppose I play less at a stretch too, since
I can pick up tunes faster now. I think it is important not
to fight the harp but to coax it into playing - I don't know
if that makes any sense.

Also, I was curious what others practise  - entire songs, or
licks , or just repeating phrases to improve tone and technique ?
Shankar.