----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Paparozzi" <chromboy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "backbender1" <backbender1@xxxxxxxxx>; <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 12:54 PM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Re: a question for all you toungue blockers
outthere...
Good point Dennis,
I'd probably put the Chicago Style (Walter, Smith, Horton..et all) TB
on equal importance to the "Legit" Classical music TB approach ....It's
pretty much a necessity if your going for that "Classic" Chicago sound.
best,
rob
Hi,
When I first started out, I strictly TB'd, then learned pucker, which was
easier for me for the blow note bends on the top register, and stuff like
the Sonny Terry technique of beating the tongue against the palette, and
for the past 20 years I've used both, often switching right during the
phrase, and IMO, it is extremely advantageous to know both because each
brings many different things to the table the other doesn't. With the TB,
you need to keep the embouchure steady, but create a larger air cavity in
your mouth, but the thing that harp players tend to do that gives them
tons of problems is that:
a.) most players tend play extremely uptight and unknowingly restricting
their airflow and then they wind up using too much air pressure to do
anything;
b.) beginners of the TB technique tend to "slam" their tongues very
rigidly and excessively hard on the instrument, and then they cause
themselves the classic problem of playing with a wet mouth 24/7.
The TB technique, just like vocals, requires that the body MUST be relaxed
and NEVER uptight in order for it to work properly or else all you do is
constantly working against yourself, or basically being your own worst
enemy in the process. Puckering requires a bit less open jaw space, but in
either case, the ENTIRE body from head to toe MUST be relaxed so that you
don't impede the airflow or need an excessive amount of air pressure to do
anything.
TB is the method of choice for classical, and Cham-Ber Huang's old
instructional sets usually preached the TB technique and to get around,
you move the harp in an arc, and NOT your head, especially when playing
some really quick phrasings, and I've found this to be very true and
handy, and stuff that requires more speed like country, this method works
very well.
Some of the Chicago stuff can be done either way as long as you make some
adjustments. With Big Walter, the beginning part of the solo on Jimmy
Rogers' "Walking By Myself" can only be done as a TB in order to get the
articulation and the accenting of the very first 4 bars correctly. Sonny
Terry was a pucker player, so in the end, from my experience, it is to
your ADVANTAGE to learn both. To get good at anything, love it or hate,
frustration is a BIG part of the learning process that we ALL go thru with
ANYTHING in life, and though it drives you nuts, but once you begin to get
the hang of something, it all pays off in the end.
Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
MP3's: http://music.mp3lizard.com/barbequebob/
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