[Harp-L] which hole number I'm playing at now?

["John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>]

Arnold,

i have this problem when trying to play a chromatic, (which i don't  
do very well) but never when playing a diatonic.  This is because the  
intervals between the blow and draw notes in each hole on a diatonic  
are are different, so (unlike a chromatic) each draw note on a  
diatonic has a different "feel" in the mouth to an experienced player  
(some bend more than others, some don't bend at all,  and so the  
'"feel" of the airflow is very different on, for example, draw 2 and  
draw 5).  Try practicing the scale or scales you use most often--like  
the blues scale or the major pentatonic (country scale)-- and pay  
attention to how each note/hole feels in your mouth as you draw air  
through it.  Each hole is like a different axe/instrument that can be  
made to do different things (keep in mind that this also may vary  
somewhat from key to key--draw 2 on an F harp feels different than  
draw 2 on a G harp, for example).
	
 Also, proper embouchure for a lip purse player will (for reasons  
not clear to me)will make your playing much more precise.  A while  
ago, in the interest of improving my tone, I began to put the harp  
deep in my mouth against the corners of my mouth, with the holes  
tilted down slightly and with the inside of my mouth adjacent to my  
lips gripping the harp so i could get the harp as deep in may mouth  
as possible and make as large an opening or aperture as possible  
consistent with still getting a single note-- while producing airflow  
from the diaphragm as i had been doing . This not only significantly   
improved my tone, but also my accuracy or precision of hole selection/ 
identification--which had been good anyway, except that I would  
sometimes  hit blow 5 instead of blow 6 when starting a fast run down  
from the top of the blues scale in 2d position while improvising at  
fast tempo. Deep embouchure eliminated that problem, but I'm not sure  
why.  Tongue blocking also seems to provide more precision/accuracy,  
but I am not a full time tongue blocker.
	
My ear is better than it used to be, but when playing electric on a  
stage with no monitors or poorly placed monitors, a player may not be  
able to hear himself very well anyway.  But, with experience,  it is  
possible to know where you are by how the airflow through each  
particular draw note feels in the mouth.  At least this works for me.
	
	JP