Tone Improvement

[Iceman6300@xxxxxxx]

When the player moves his consciousness away from busywork at the front of 
his mouth (what hole am I on, do I inhale or exhale, how is my tongue 
supposed to lie?) and focuses towards his lower throat (the "Yawning" area), 
into his diaphragm, and ultimately down to the soles of his feet (feeling the 
push of the Earth upward), tone develops/deepens/improves.

Mental imagery also helps. 

One Augusta Heritage student in class at Blues Week was a young caucasian 
girl, very thin, about 105 lb. She had mastered the basics - single notes, 
bending, rhythm grooves, elementary solos. However; her tone was thin and 
reedy. I had her stand in the middle of the classroom, close her eyes and 
imagine herself to be a 300 lb. African American woman. When she had this 
visualization firmly in her mind, her body language changed. I then asked her 
to play. What a difference. The whole class was amazed. Big improvement in 
tone.

The Iceman