Re: [Harp-L] Can you tongue block overblow

[JohnnieHarp <johnnieharp@xxxxxxxxx>]

>> I know Dennis Gruenling does, so yes it can be done.

> just because dennis does it, that doesn't mean it's
> physically possible. :-).

Garry, though you say that with a smile, you've nailed the point, imho.

Just because Tiger Woods can hit some of the shots that he does,
doesn't mean that its possible for the other pros to do so. Certainly
these shots are well beyond the abilities of the weekend player. It
amazes me that some (Adam Gussow, some listers here, etc.) can play
out of the box harmonicas successfully.

This implies that differences in the anatomy and physiology of
players, however slight, has a huge impact on what works for each. I
suspect that some who use O.O.T.B. harps would have real difficulty in
playing a custom harp that has been embossed and gapped to really
tight tolerances. Also, 100s of hours of playing and practicing
impacts the coordination and power of all the muscles involved in
playing, just as with athletes.

In one of Jason Ricci's early videos, he mentions that his customizing
efforts helped him to better understand the harmonica and the playing
of it. He refers to one of his harps as his Stradivarius. He mentions
that he will replace reeds one at a time if necessary to keep it in
service for as long as possible.

For the hobbyist, with pitch shifting software such as BestPractice
(freeware) one can have a “Strad” or two that can be used to more
efficiently learn and enjoy the experience of playing along with music
originally done in various keys.