Re: [Harp-L] Tongue blocking and speed

["Eric Garcia" <ericgar85@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

i am not as good a player as you, or any of these harp players we are 
referring to.
but i'm not new.
... i am simply stating what i believe to be true through what i've heard and
my experiences as a player have shown me.
... i cannot offer any scientific proof of what i'm saying,, cause that's
what it's looking like it's coming down to.. all we really seem
to have here is what we believe as players, and some quotes
and statements from staunch tb'ers.. like
a silly harp-civil war.
...if that IS what sugar blue said,, than i guess we gotta take him for
it.. it's not unusual for articles to be marred by misquotes and other
misinterpretations, however..

when i said i have met him,, all i meant was, we did many shots,, he
got hammered,, and i'm sure said many things that might or might not
be true on that night alone, and the circumstances of that article are
unbeknownst to us.... plus he's freakin crazy.

i'm sorry i cannot offer any "proof."
i rarely chime into harp-l,, although i check in almost daily.
this is just what i believe as a harp player,
musician, and music lover.
... and now there's all these streams starting from people
"switching over" and i wanted to speak my piece
as a predominant pucker player.

eric

..

> From: Jonathan Ross <jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Tongue blocking and speed
> Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2006 01:05:10 -0400
>
> > well.. since you play harp.. and apparently for quite sometime..
> > you should be able to tell that tbing @ lower register notes with the
> > same speed and dexterity presents physical problems.
>
> No, it doesn't.  I can tongue block equally well out of either side  of my 
> mouth.  I learned the "wrong" way first, so that's part of it,  but the 
> technique really is no different depending on the side.   Further, I can 
> tongue-block all the notes out of the right side if I  wanted to.  I rarely 
> want to as I find it uncomfortable blocking no  holes and just comb when 
> playing the first hole this way, but that's  a personal issue and has no 
> relationship to the effectiveness of the  technique.  If those are the 
> "physical problems" then I don't see  that as valid, as I can do it and I'm 
> not a special case talent or  technique wise.
>
> > ...note that sugar blue doesn't spend a lot of time down there  except for
> > more melodic reasons..
>
> Which has to do with his speed playing how?  Almost all the ultra- fast 
> players do so at the upper ranges of the instrument.  That has  little to 
> do with the embouchure and much to do with the speed of  reeds engaging 
> relative to pitch and size.
>
>
> > ... i'm not calling him a liar..
>
> Actually, you did.  He said that he tongue-blockes everything.  You  say 
> that's impossible.  If you are right that means he was lying.
>
> > i have met him,, right around when that 95 article came
> > out actually... don't know him well enough to call him a liar..  booked 
> > him at my club,,
> > he's definitely on the crazy side..
>
> All of which has nothing to do with whether or not you claim he's  lying in 
> that interview, as I said in my previous statement.
>
> > all i'm saying is,, that just because he says it,, it's not in  stone, and 
> > should be taken as such.
>
> So, what is your argument that he can't?  I haven't heard it except  the 
> "physical problems" part, which is vague and undefined.  I can  imagine 
> what that might be (as I wrote), but really, what reason do  you have for 
> thinking that one can't play fast tongue-blocking?   Specific, not vague.  
> It is obvious from listening that Sugar Blue  uses tongue-slaps, splits, 
> octaves and other tongue-block effects.   Why do you think that he does not 
> use tongue-blocking when he plays  fast, then.
>
> > i'm not disputing the advantages of tbing,, but i think we can  agree on 
> > it's limitations
> > before everybody in the harp-l world converts to "toungeblockism"
>
> Every embouchure has limitations.  That's not the issue.  The  assumption 
> was stated that one of the limitations for tongue-blocking  is that it's 
> not as fast as puckering.  That assumption was stated  with little 
> evidence.  It was suggested that certain fast players  pucker and therefore 
> it must be faster because of that.  When  examples of other fast players 
> (not just Sugar Blue, but as he's  known for speed he is easy to focus on) 
> who use tongue-blocking were  given it seems you still want to maintain the 
> assumption by refuting  the example of fast tb players.  So let's get away 
> from that  (ignoring for the moment Sugar Blue's own words).
>
>  Now, please be as specific as possible, because I don't a priori  believe 
> such to exist and so can't imagine them up for myself,  especially because 
> in my own (not particularly fast) playing I don't  find any such speed 
> based limitations.  So again, I ask what is it  that you think physically 
> makes tongue-blocking slower than puckering?
>
>
>
>  ()()    JR "Bulldogge" Ross
> ()  ()   & Snuffy, too:)
> `----'
>
>
>
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