Re: [Harp-L] Example of Throat Vibrato

[Joe and Cass Leone <leone@xxxxxxxx>]

On Sep 23, 2004, at 10:43 PM, samblancato wrote:

> Thanks everybody for your input on throat vibrato.  Maybe this sounds 
> silly
> but I was hoping there was somebody out there who would be able to 
> explain
> the "easy" way to learn this;

 * Try this method. Take a piece of paper (about 2" x 4"). Fold it so 
that 3" is on one side and 1" is on the other. Place paper over tines 
of a common hair comb (with long side of paper away from you). Hold up 
to mouth and pursing the lips, blow a stream of air at the paper. Use 
pulsating breath by NEARLY (but NOT fully) closing off the throat (AT 
the epiglotis..just as you stated below). Start with ONE breath per 
second, go to 2, then 3, then 4, and so on practicing timing each 
series till it's comfortable. Note: pulsing more than 4-5 per second is 
really gong too fast.
 NEXT, do same exercise by vibrating the larnyx with the muscles on 
each side. Breath in while trying to make the sound a helicopter blade 
would make. Then try it breathing OUT. Watch the paper movements.

>  like I was hoping it was some little trick
> that I didn't know about and once I learned that simple little trick I 
> would
> have TB over night.  Looks like I'm going to have to stay out in the 
> wood
> shed on this one for a while.

 *Tongue blocking can't be explained any farther than it is. Basically 
you are blocking holes/notes with your tongue. Can be left, right, 
middle, a little shy of middle either direction, not at all, or if you 
don't want to make ANY sound....totally.
> I have made a little progress in the last month or so though.  The 
> thing is
> that where I'm seeing progress, where I hear it, isn't a result of 
> following
> the basic principal of the inhaled machine gun effect.

 *Easier to use the helicopter (Jaw) vibrato on the inhaled notes. The 
abbreviated "machine gun" sound is HARSHER attack than you want to be 
at. Soften it like a singer would.

>   Instead, I've had
> better results by opening and closing my nostrils. This involves the 
> throat,
> I know, but higher up, in the septum actually. The result sounds more 
> what
> I'm trying for.  When I do this my tongue is almost flat on the 
> "floor" of
> my mouth.  I -for lack of a better word- flutter my septum open and 
> closed.

 * This is very close to what I'm talking about.

> I don't know if this is what I  should be doing but it's giving me at 
> least
> something like what I'm shooting for.

 * That's the wonderful thing about mouth harp. You can NEVER run out 
of experiments. (No one has YET).
> Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh