Re: [Harp-L] RE: blown out harps

["bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,
There most certainly is, and I can tell you that from the time I took vocal lessons and the very first two things they put heavy emphasis on is proper breathing and also relaxation techniques. Most people who use too much breath force often use only 1/3 of their lung capacity at best, and play very physically uptight, and once you start doing that, you severely constrict your air passages, forcing you to play even harder, and in the process, 50-75% of your breath actually gets wasted, you get winded quickly, you don't play resonantly, your agility is severely comprimised, your tone thins out, and you don't project well, and on top of that, you're more likely to have feedback problems playing amplified.
I have never regretted getting the vocal lessons and I recommend EVERY player do so because it helped not just my vocals, but my playing ten fold. When your body is fully relaxed, you can actually get more volume with 80% less effort and almost no physical strain at all, you never waste breath, your tone gets bigger and rounder, your projection improves, your bends are more accurate, and that's just for starters, plus harp blowout is minimized GREATLY. Unfortunately, I seriously doubt a lot of players are gonna listen.
Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
MP3's: http://music.mp3lizard.com/barbequebob/ 

---------- Original Message ----------
From: fjm <bad_hat@xxxxxxxx>
To: h-l <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: 
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] RE: blown out harps
Date: Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:41:43 -0700

There does seem to be some similarity between singing and playing 
harmonica.  I would imagine that a lot of the techniques cross over but 
not being formally trained in voice I can only venture guesses. Ever 
pick up a harmonica backwards and try to play it?  Remember what 
happened?  for me the note doesn't sound.  Why? Impedance mismatch. 
Mike and I were having an argument something along these lines.  I went 
so far as to use a regulated air stream to sound notes.  Low notes would 
not sound at the same pressure as higher notes and the range of 
acceptable pressures was narrow.  Vern has done similar experimentation 
with a vacuum  source.  A pity that Pat Missin no longer graces us with 
his company.  No doubt he'd have more informed thoughts on this topic 
than I do.  fjm
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