Re: [Harp-L] Tongue blocking and tone

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"John Dekker" wrote:
<As a beginner, I pucker for everything, and find tongue blocking to be very <difficult. Is it true that the great Chicago blues tone can only come from tongue <blocking? I think I read that Little Walter and others tongue blocked most of the <time. Is anyone getting "that" tone while puckering?

Butterfield was a pucker player, and another poster noted that Musselwhite is a self-identified pucker player too.  I think both these guys sound great.  That's not a direct answer to your question, but it's a big hint as to what the real question is.

As a beginner, I think you're better off working on getting a big sound with whatever embouchure comes most easily to you.  If you stick with the harp, sooner or later you'll learn additional embouchures.  In the meantime, making notes sound loud and clear is more important than playing a particular embouchure.  

Getting a big sound is more about breathing from the gut and relaxing your throat than it is about your embouchure.  See http://www.hunterharp.com/breathex1/ for more info.

Regards, Richard Hunter


  

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