[Harp-L] RE: Switching Corners and mixing embouchures

[Eric Nielsen <ericbarnak@xxxxxxxxx>]

Winslow wrote:

"First question: What's the most efficient and clean way to achieve the
sequence of notes you want?
Second question: What's your "default" preferred embouchure?"


Hi Winslow,

Thank you for the detailed discussion. I tried the two scenarios you
described, and they came together very comfortably.

To answer your second question, I am primarily a lip-purser. I actually
started out a tongue-blocker (thanks to the little instruction booklet that
came with every Marine Band years ago), went to being a u-blocker for a
while, and then settled on lip-pursing for primary embouchure. I still
tongue-block on the little bit of Chromatic I play. It seems to work better
for the wider spacing of the holes. There's also some Eastern European songs
I do with bass notes on the left side of the mouth, rhythmic vamping in the
middle, and melody on the right.

For the first question, this is the sequence that started me trying to
seriously incorporate tongue-switching in a melody line: It's a section from
the Irish tune "The Silver Spire":

5D 6B 6D 5D 5B* ***6B 4B** 5B 5D 5B 4D 4B 3D **4D 2D** 3D

I wasn't happy with the little blur of a note I would get passing over the
intervening hole when going from 6B to 4B--and from 4D to 2D.
Tongue-switching seemed to be a good way to segregate that in between hole
when playing at a fast pace, but then I've been trying to figure out where
are the good areas to switch back to lip-pursing, my more comfortable
embouchure. I've tried playing the whole passage tongue-blocked, but I'm
left using a left corner tongue-block on the 4B after the 6B to 4B corner
switch and need to get back to a right corner tongue-block at the 4D to 2D
corner switch later on.

Thanks much,
Eric

P.S. I bought your book and it's great.