Re: [Harp-L] Re: Relaxing while playing

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

Hi,
This is something I've been saying for a long time. Being too physically tense gets you into a truckload of bad playing habits like clockwork and once even a single part of you is even mildy tensed up, it screws up everything and the average player is often very guilty of this. For both vocalists and harp players, tensing up constricts your air passages and then you wind up playing needlessly harder, but you waste 80% of your breath force doing that, and then your tone and chops suffer badly and the sound doesn't project well at all. Going to a reputable vocal coach is something I recommend because the very first things they check for and put a lot of emphasis on is both your breathing technique and your relaxation technique and many people new to the game often have a difficult time with that and getting these lessons alone will have a dramatically beneficial effect onyou.

Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.CDbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte 


---------- Original Message ----------
From: Michael Easton <diachrome@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Relaxing while playing
Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2010 09:09:47 -0400

It took me years to discover this.  I would always tense up waiting  
for my solo then have an asthma attack in the middle of it and run
out of air in the middle of a solo.   Over the past few years I've  
learned to release the tension while the guitarist does his solo or  
the vocalist is leading into mine.

Tension can lead to playing the same chops all the time because you  
aren't relaxed enough to create new ideas on the fly.

If I want to create tension in the song I play behind the beat, I  
don't work myself up to create it.    The gigs go a lot nicer when you  
learn to relax.

It's not only harp players.  Most of us probably played with band  
mates that had to drink hard liquor or light up a bowl before, during  
and after a gig to relieve the
tension.   Learning to tell your body to relax is a lot cheaper and  
healthier.

Mike
www.harmonicarepair.com

On Jun 29, 2010, at 1:45 AM, harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Message: 13
> Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:59:17 EDT
> From: MundHarp@xxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Levelling the Playing Field
> To: conruth@xxxxxxxxx
> Cc: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Message-ID: <13bd5.4717e0b8.395ac995@xxxxxxx>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
>
> In a message dated 29/06/2010 06:58:53 Malay Peninsula Standard Time,
> conruth@xxxxxxxxx writes:
>
> <<  Madcat says;     Relax.  No part of your body needs to be  tense
> when you play harmonica
>>>
>
> Peter is 100% right!
>
> In my opinion, a harmonica player... Or a singer for that matter,  
> will most
> ALWAYS make a more musical sound if they "Lose that tension"...
>
> Just RELAX...
>
> Best wishes,
>
> John "Whiteboy" Walden
> English harmonica player,
> Cebu City
> Philippines
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