[Harp-L] Re: Questions from newbie ~ embouchre

["James F. Antaki, PhD" <turbodog@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

John F. Potts wrote:

... .he inside of the mouth just past the edge of the lip is in contact with
and holds the harp to form the  
  seal.  Because you pout your lips out forward and put the front of  the
harmonica IN your mouth, it is the area inside of your mouth just  
  past the lip line that grips the harmonica.  You are basically  wrapping
your lips around the harp, so it is the INSIDE of your mouth  
  just past your lips which makes contact with the cover plates of the harp.
Of course, the corners of your mouth stay put when you pout  
  your lips forward to make a "fish mouth" so at the corners you can't  wrap
you lips around the harmonica, (which will extend past the  
  corners of the mouth on either side anyway if the harmonica is of  normal
size).  So, at the corners, the front of the comb rests  
  against your lip area at that location since it cannot get it in past  the
lip line.  But the rest of your lips should be OUTSIDE of the  
  harmonica with the inside of the mouth just past the lip line  gripping
the harmonica and forming the seal...

You might find this hard to believe but I can send you photos of this taken
from the *inside* of the harp comb(!) Thanks to some ambitious experiments
by my colleague, Dr. Henry Bahnson, who inserted a fiber-optic camera
(laryngoscope) into a hole drilled through the back of the harp. Let me know
if interested and I'll dig them up. (They are actually screen captures from
a 1/2 hour video; so I can also send an mpg.)

Turbodog