Re: [Harp-L] Re: advanced?

[pic2318834@xxxxxxx]

Yeah, funny I ignored that same little instruction page in the harp I  
bought as a kid too.  I think it taught us how to play marry had a little  lamb 
and hot cross buns on my first harp.  Now 35 years later I tongue  block 90% 
of the time.
 
Pic
 
 
In a message dated 1/18/2010 10:23:03 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx writes:

My own  experience was that I bought a diatonic harmonica as a teenager and 
read the  little sheet that came with the harmonica that described covering 
three holes  with your mouth but then blocking out two of them with your 
tongue. My  immediate reaction was WHY would I want to do THAT? I mean, what 
was the  point? Why not just pucker?

So I taught myself to play by puckering  until I noticed that you could 
play octaves with tongue blocking. So I added  that. But it was years before I 
was really aware of slaps, hammers and lifts,  and all the other 
tongue-based techniques that really add to the sounds you  can get out of a harmonica. 
Now I tongue block a lot more than I  pucker.

I suspect that a lot of players go through a similar process.  Puckering is 
obvious and simple. Tongue blocking is non-obvious and more  complex. And 
its advantages are also non-obvious.

Hey, "non-obvious" is  a requirement for patenting something. Think I could 
get a patent on tongue  blocking? Then I could sue all the great blues 
players to pay back royalties  for using my technology without having licensed 
it. (Like how Nokia is now  suing Apple over the iPhone).

Winslow

Winslow  Yerxa

Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5

---  On Mon, 1/18/10, Jim Rossen <jimjimdr@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Date: Monday,  January 18, 2010, 6:30 PM

I respectfully and inoffensively disagree  that most players find
tongue blocking and pucker play to be comparable in  difficulty-
particularly with bends.   If so, why are most  intermediate players
far better with pucker than TB?




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