Re: [Harp-L] Muting notes

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

A harmonica player has these methods to stop a note quickly.
1) Stop breathing to end reed vibration.
2) Cut off the breath flow (tongue and throat can do this) - tongue will produce the sharpest cutoff as it is closest to the reed.
An auciliary technique to be used together with either 1) or 2): When playing acoustically, close your hands around the harp to darken the tone. This is hard to implement without creating the side effect of an "ee-oo"-like vowel change.
I'm not aware of harmonica players using these methods for the same musical purpose you describe (loud note followed by dramatic cutoff), at least not as an identified technique. Now and then you do hear the occasional dramatic cutoff of a note, though.ÂWinslow Yerxa
President, SPAH, the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica
Producer, theÂHarmonica Collective
Author, Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
ÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ Harmonica Basics For Dummies, ASIN B005KIYPFS
ÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ Blues Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-1-1182-5269-7
Resident Expert, bluesharmonica.comInstructor, JazzschoolÂCommunity Music School
      From: Ronnie Schreiber <autothreads@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
 To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
 Sent: Sunday, November 16, 2014 9:51 AM
 Subject: [Harp-L] Muting notes
   
I was talking to my son, who plays some metal guitar, and he told me 
that with some songs he's banging hard on the strings and almost 
immediately muting them with the palm or heel of his hand.

The led me to wonder about harmonica. Do any of your really proficient 
players ever find yourself having to mute a note? If so, what's the 
technique you use to stop a reed from sounding?