Re: pucker/tb

[Pat Missin <pat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Vern wrote:
>
>I believe that an individual might learn to produce exactly the same tone
>with pucker or tb. Harp players do have a tendency to subjectively hear
>differences when they know the underlying conditions (pucker/tb, materials,
>etc.) that they cannot objectively hear blind.

When I started out on the harmonica, there was nobody to tell me that
my pucker tone should be thinner than my TB tone. As a result, they
both sound pretty much the same. 

I don't doubt for one moment that some players will be able to produce
a better tone with one particular embouchure, but I don't see that
this means it will be true for ALL players.

One of the regular demonstrations I've done in my workshops over the
years, is to switch embouchures whilst holding a single note. So far,
the hundreds of people that have heard me do this all agree that the
tone on either side of the switch sounds the same. However when I
demonstrate U-blocking (a technique I almost never use, except for
when I am demonstrating different embouchures), it invariably sounds
much weaker than either my pucker or TB. I wonder why that is...?

 -- Pat.