Re: [Harp-L] RE: Tongue-block

[Moandabluz@xxxxxxx]

I swear.. everything I do when it comes to learning harp is backward, 
sideways and upside down.
When I was first messing with harp, I tongue blocked when I played. But I was 
playing straight harp and never bending notes. Then when I tried to get a 
little more serious about it, I started puckering to get the bends. So, it looks 
like I wasted about 20 years or so. Of course, I have never spent much 
concentrated time on figuring out these things. A little here, a little there, for 
years. Then I got excited again in the late 90s and into this century and gained 
a little ground. Now I sit here again with the wheels spinning. I can bend 
tongue blocking, but not with ease. Some of that has to do with surgery that 
messed up my ability to get a good embouchure. Some of it has to do with my lack 
of practice. More has to do with my lack of ability.    
I am always amazed at the tone some of you people on this list are able to 
achieve. However, it's my personal belief, if you are playing for the public, 
that tone is just part of the whole thing. Recording would be another story. 
   I don't know.. I'm happy to make some noise that doesn't sound terrible. 
It's still fun to me after all these years. I still like to play, but I'm not 
going to obsess over any technique. I have long ago learned that we can't all 
be great, but that we can all enjoy something.

Still a fool for the Harp
Steve 'Moandabluz' Webb