[Harp-L] Re: Need encouragement

[Bill Rossoll <billrossoll@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello, Dark Gallows

I too played trumpet at one time. I played all through my school years 
and even did some pro stuff locally back when dinosaurs roamed the 
earth.(Mostly Motown/Soul music type stuff)
When I first picked up the harmonica, I tried TB(tongue blocking).
I got pretty discouraged. Then somebody showed me the pucker method.
I did OK with that but wasn't happy with the tone(that's a big thing 
with us trumpet players)
Next, I moved on to the "U-Tongue" method that Norton Buffalo teaches in 
his tapes/CDs that he did for Homespun Tapes(Homespuntapes.com).
Bingo! It was like playing the trumpet all over again, except I found 
that my embouchure was quite a bit more relaxed than the visual 
depictions in the lesson.
It made learning to "bend" a WHOLE bunch easier.
Now I use whichever one of the three happens to fit the situation( but 
primarily use the u-block for single notes.)
Remember how your trumpet teacher told you what an awful thing it was 
that Dizzy Gillespie didn't follow convention when he puffed his cheeks 
out? HaHaHaHa!
It's the same way with harmonica.
You gotta find what works for YOU!
Don't throw in the towel.
Puff  out those cheeks!!!( if it feels right) and figure out what it 
takes for YOU to have some fun with it.
Like Red Green says, "Keep your stick on the ice. We're all pullin' for 
you."