[Harp-L] Re Hearing yourself

[Steve]

Don't put your finger in your actual ear, Aongus. Cup one ear and aim for the sound to "travel up your arm," if you see what I mean, from mouth to cupped ear, by adjusting your hand and arm position. You can easily do it with blues harps and tremolos. It's not impossible with a chrom, after all, how often do you need that button on the good ould diatonic Irish tunes!  I found that I only had to do it "sometimes" in any case to get myself back on track.

Steve Shaw 

> On 26 Mar 2018, at 19:57, Aongus Mac Cana <amaccana at xxxxx> wrote:
> 
> I don't have any grand aspirations to be a harmonica star, but would like
> now and then to be able to hear what I am playing when in a session of up to
> thirty musicians playing more powerful instruments than the humble harp -
> Banjos, fiddles, Paolo Sopranis and the like. 
> 
> Rick Epping gave us the tip to stick a finger in one ear - which is not
> always convenient when you are playing a chromatic.
> 
> I have found that a sponge rubber ear defender in one ear does the trick as
> I have always feared that sticking a finger in your ear might just give your
> adjacent musician the impression that you are making a reflection on his/her
> playing and provoke them into giving you a punch.
> 
> In the Irish trad scene individual amplifiers are a no no and would be
> considered as a demonstration of excess ego.
> 
> Beannachtai
> 
> Aongus Mac Cana
>