Bluzdude46
67 posts
Jun 28, 2009
1:17 AM
|
Ok My Band schedule is on hold, I stopped going to jams. I'm self taught and for many years I couldn't figure out how to do certain riffs and things I've heard from other harp players. I found out about TB'ing (head in the sand for many years) I listened to the debate (Pursing vs TB) And for the first time I'm really woodshedding doing nothing but TB.
I can't bend notes I normally can, scales have slowed down till I feel like a grade schooler in his first lessons on a new instrument. I'm getting it slowly but I've never worked on anything that has been this hard for me before. Muscle memory for years and years of playing the way I do doesn't want to give up. I'm holding the harp different, got it more in my mouth but I keep having to correct the angle.
My tone is getting better, I think, but it's hard to tell with as crappy as I'm playing. I can hear certain licks that I didn't play before being possible this way. But I play something once and it feels like by accident because I try to repeat it and I can't always get it. My mouth hurts I don't think I ever practiced this hard before.
Any tips, encouragement, tricks, sayings or exercises are greatly appreciated.
|
Kingley
114 posts
Jun 28, 2009
1:57 AM
|
It's always hard when learning new techniques.
I'm currently learning tongue blocked overblows and can totally sympathise with you about the feeling like a beginner again.
If your mouth hurts then it would suggest that you are doing something a little wrong.
You may already know these things, but there's no harm in being reminded of them.
Try relaxing your mouth don't "clamp" your lips on the harp. It's like kissing someone you love, your lips need to caress the harp not attack it.
Your tongue needs to also be only very lightly against the comb for the reeds to react.
Try left side blocking and right side blocking, you may find one easier than the other.
Don't use too much breath force (remember, softly, softly catchee monkey!).
Running the scales should help with the muscle memory. Other than that just keep practicing it will come to you.
|
Oisin
275 posts
Jun 28, 2009
1:59 AM
|
Hey Bluzdude....I had the same experience with tongue blocking. When I was first shown how to do it I thought I'd never get it. I couldn't bend and struggled to get a 2 draw worth dick, especially on an A harp. The guy who was teaching me could see I was struggling and I was making very little improvement between lessons.
So what he did was get me to tongue slap the 123 draw so that when my tongue was off I played the 123 draw chord and when my tongue went back on I was playing the 3 draw only. Then he got me to play a simple rhythm with my tongue by playing this and then reversing to 123 blow and playing the 3 blow only with my tongue on the 1+2. It took a few days hard practice to get this but when I had it down I found i could tongue block much easier.
He then got me to repeat this but with different sets of holes up and down the harp and then to narrow it down to just 2 holes. It still took a few months to get it right and the bending took a little longer also because when you lip purse you've got your tongue to help you get those bends.To get the TB bends tou need to think about your mouth shape and dropping and raising your lower jaw.
It does seem impossible when you first try doing it but believe me it will come with practise. I hope this is of help.
Oisin
|
eharp
279 posts
Jun 28, 2009
5:12 AM
|
i have just switched to tb after many years of lb. i dabbled at it a few times in the past and felt frustrated, so i would stop.
i now practice with this technique almost all the time but i usually do it in short stretches to eliminate getting frustrated. after 2 weeks of practice i feel i am now ready to begin working on other tb techniques like the slap or bends.
hope my experience helps.
|
JTThirty
43 posts
Jun 28, 2009
6:49 AM
|
First off, don't quit your present embousure. Keep those mouth muscles in shape, but whenever you pick up a harp, hit it with TB and work up and down the blues scale and the familiar licks that you already know. And expect it to take time. My harp mentor, who kept at me about learning to TB, told me that it took him 9 months of staying at it before he felt that he had it down decently. He's a darned good player, so I knew going in that learning to TB would require patience. He was about right and everything that every TBer claims about the tonal benefits of tongue blocking is right. It was worth the trip. Anyway--
|
harpwrench
41 posts
Jun 28, 2009
9:40 AM
|
Relaxing is really important.
|
oldwailer
796 posts
Jun 28, 2009
11:57 AM
|
The best help I have found for TBing (which I am still working on) was Kinya Pollard's class at Dave Barrett's Masterclass.
If you can't do a Masterclass--try some of Dave Barrett's books--the hard part of that is figuring out where you fall into his scheme as far as how advanced you are--but I have the most basic blues book he offers, and it started me right off on the track of TBing--without addressing bending--I think that comes later in his graded system.
There is always a CD with the book, and a lot of fun stuff to jam with. . .
|
Greg Heumann
91 posts
Jun 28, 2009
1:31 PM
|
TB opens up a whole new world of rhythm playing, attacks, chords, flutters, etc - and enables the "fully sealed front of harp" cupping technique we've discussed that can make a big difference in tone. I've been TB'ing for a good while now but I still switch back and forth between TB and pucker all the time. My bends in TB position are still weak. Some day I hope to be able to bend at will in TB position......
----------
/Greg
http://www.BlowsMeAway.com
http://www.BlueStateBand.net
|
djm3801
159 posts
Jun 28, 2009
5:14 PM
|
Take up woodworking.
Or - Lip purse for what works (90% of all playing) and learn to TB really well those things that can only be done that way (10%?) , then integrate the TB into your normal lip purse style. Pure TB is really hell. I and OK for octaves and tongue slaps and some stuff on Adam's videos.
Ot take up woodworking.
Dan
|
Bluzdude46
68 posts
Jun 29, 2009
3:46 AM
|
Thanks Dan, not really into furniture making I think I'll stay with the Harp.
Thanks all. I need to really push this to get to the level I want. I can LP and I'll always be able too. This is about not giving up and doing the things I've wanted too and couldn't before. As far as the mouth hurting it's mostly the corner of my mouth because I'm pushing the harp deeper to a spot my mouth isn't used too and some of the Harps I use in certain keys are the ridge type (Blues Harp, Marine Band) And I think I just rubbed a little raw. I'm working hard and my scales aren't as fluent bends are tough. But I'm getting there. When I fail at something tough I try it one more time then I do something I'm good at like 1234 chugging with different opens with tongue slaps and all. Thats fun and sounds good. The part I'm going to dread is re learning all the songs I've done all these years. Some of them, quite frankly, I've been doing a weak version because of lack of TB. I'll get there
|
DesertDog
6 posts
Jul 03, 2009
7:14 PM
|
A long time ago, Joe Filsko had an article in the SPAH magazine about tongue blocking. He suggested cutting the handle off a gallon milk jug and punching holes in it to make it look like the mouth piece of a harmonica. Using a mirror, one could then see how the tongue landed on this pseudo harp for tongue blocking single notes and octaves. I found it a great way to quickly learn the correct position and move from one position to the next.
|
apskarp
14 posts
Jul 04, 2009
7:14 AM
|
Interesting topic for me too. I've bought some books from David Barret about TB and I work on those occasionally. The thing is that I'm not very advanced with LP either (I'd say about "advanced intermediate minus" as it comes to Adam's grading) so it seems that instead of working very hard on TB I should get LP right first.
Of course it can also be so that it's easier to integrate TB in my playing now than what it would be after couple of years.
So what I just now decided to do as I read your writings is that I'll dedicate some time every day for TB. I can use f.ex. TB octaves already with my band but to switch totally to TB would put me back to the level where I couldn't play with a band anymore. Thus it's not possible to switch TB tp LP but instead try to build up that at the same time as I build up my skills in LP too.
Btw, here's a good free series for TB's from David Barrett: http://www.harmonicasessions.com/jun09/Barrett.html
|
