[Harp-L] Tongue blocking and speed / SPAH '06

[Mudharp@xxxxxxx]

At SPAH this year there was an afternoon  presentation/performance entitled 
"Blues Style Showcase". It featured four  pro level harmonica players sitting 
on stage side by side playing and talking  about their playing. The 
participants from left to right: Jason Ricci, Joe  Filisko, Dennis Gruenling and Gary 
Primich. Jason MC'd and did a nice job  eliciting responses from the rest of the 
panel regarding the origins and  evolution of their playing styles in terms of 
influences and other factors. The  subject of tongue blocking vs pucker (or 
lip pursing, as I recall Jason calling  it) surfaced again and again during the 
discussion, and across the board each  player had a different take on TB as 
it pertained to their individual styles.  For what it's worth, Joe Filisko was 
the only panelist who was and is adamant  about being a 100% tongue blocker on 
all holes at all times no matter what he's  playing. Jason, the outwardly 
fastest player on the panel stated that he is  predominantly a pucker style 
player who occasionally employs TB. Dennis stated  that he uses TB most of the time 
except sometimes on the 1 and 10 holes  especially during bends and other 
"unnatural" notes on those holes. (Did I get  that right, Dennis?) Primich pretty 
much indicated that he often mixes  embouchures depending on what he's trying 
to accomplish. I inferred that he's  more or less a 60-70% TBer but 
definitely does a lot of pucker playing.  

I can't draw any hard and fast conclusions about speed vis-a-vis  embouchure 
from any of this and I have paraphrased and simplified what the  panelists in 
this discussion stated. But it's interesting to note that Jason,  the player 
who, among other things is known for blisteringly fast and precise  playing was 
the one who stated that he predominantly uses a pucker embouchure.  By 
contrast, Joe and Dennis who are known for elongated tones and fewer notes  (not 
that they can't play fast when they want to) are the ones who predominantly  or 
100% TB. Gary, who's style and execution often vacillates between slow,  
measured playing and fast staccato bursts seemed to imply that he mixes  embouchures 
as the spirit moves him. 

At any rate, it was a fascinating and insightful presentation and it would  
be interesting to hear what others who were there got out of it.

t.  albanese