jonsparrow
1714 posts
Jan 16, 2010
10:47 PM
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how deep is your dedication to playing? iv had a canker sore the past few days an its been gettin worse. so bad that it hurts to play. so...my solution. i learned to tounge block. something i never really focused on cause i found it really hard an awkward. but now it kinda my only choice if i wanna play till this heals. an now i can do it OK. i cant bend notes like i can if i were lip pursing but i can play the same stuff. not as fast though but its there. not bad for one day of really trying. any one else felt the need to still play even though they shouldnt. like if you were sick or something? or had a canker sore like in my case. also my lips are chapped pretty bad for some reason so you can imagine my issues.
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Last Edited by on Jan 16, 2010 10:48 PM
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Nastyolddog
23 posts
Jan 16, 2010
11:24 PM
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Hi again Jon keep at it mate i was Lip Purser not so long back now,,but TB now man swapping over from LP to TB was a big mind thing for me was i going to have the same tone or better,,i won't know nothing to play how long will it take,,i sat down for about 2 weeks strait slobering and blocking up my harp thinking this just ain't happenning but i kept at it and truly Pow one day i just starting doing the same scales up and down up and down and Pow that was it.no problems the the clouds cleard what have i got to lose i got the best of both worlds now Lip Purser and Tongue Blocker keep all ya Old Tricks you become twice the player you where to start with,,I don't mean to name Drop But i emailed Badassharmonica via his pesonal email talking to him about his playing style since just converting to TB i was keen to ask questions he was very Helpfull,,I mentioned my converting over to him from Lip Purseing He Mentioned he started out as a Lip Puser allso
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CJames
127 posts
Jan 16, 2010
11:51 PM
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When I first started playing i got really bad chapped lips and cuts on the edges of my mouth - kept playin though! chapstick helps lube the mouthpeice too
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jonsparrow
1715 posts
Jan 16, 2010
11:54 PM
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i dont think ill totally switch over. i like lip pursing more. but i will try to be able to play every thing on both styles. well not every thing but most things.
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EddyLizard2
68 posts
Jan 17, 2010
12:22 AM
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i also had a fat, really very painful little ulcer on the inside of my lower lip for the last 2 weeks...really bad when putting the harp directly onto it...so yeah, i was trying all kinds of (new to me) techniques with absolutely no contact between the sore and the harp...(cannot let a day go by without blowing at least once)...even tried at some time to pull my lower lip away from the harp with one hand while playing with the other...well, this somehow worked...
Knowing that there are lots of possible reasons for sores i got a 'scary' suspicion: that ulcer seemed to only get better after i stopped using a particular (relatvely new& very dear) harp of mine...so i guess (because today i found the lesion pretty well healed over and i do not have to go to work!) i will have to woodshed with exactly THAT harp! Have to find out if IT really worsens the condition...because this could also be an allergy to the reedplate contact with my mouth.
other possible reason: just mechanically overused and mistreated mucous skin by hours and hours of exrercising - which i thought i had grown out off...Btw chapstick didn't help me.
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harpletunnel
8 posts
Jan 17, 2010
4:01 PM
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I don't know how lip pursers can say they are not tongue blockers too. I personally cannot do 4 and 5 hole octaves without tongue blocking. I cannot do pulls, slaps or pull slaps lip pursing. How do lip pursers flutter. What about tongue switching? I am a converted lip purser but now do both.
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jonsparrow
1725 posts
Jan 17, 2010
4:05 PM
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well ofcourse i would tongue block like that, but as far as playing single notes i dont tongue block.
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MichaelAndrewLo
110 posts
Jan 17, 2010
4:48 PM
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I was a lip purser for the first months of playing. Around august I decided that I should learn everything tongue blocking and it wasn't easy. Just now I am starting to feel as comfortable tongue blocking as I did lip pursing. Of course it's a personal preference, but if you really think about it, tongue blocking is just incredibly efficient. There is no facial tension (when you do it right) when playing tongue blocking single notes and when transitioning to octaves or leaps, its just a very tiny movement of the tongue. Of course, this takes lots of deliberate practice. All I can say about learning tongue blocking for single notes: make sure you are covering 4 holes with your mouth and blocking out 3. I just learned the importance of this, and it makes a world of difference! good luck.
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Zhin
383 posts
Jan 17, 2010
9:59 PM
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Lip purser, tongue blocker, WHATEVER.
I use BOTH. I play all single notes lip pursed though. Whatever you choose, it doesn't matter. It's your choice. It's not that hard to use both. It's not THAT special to be able to switch from one method to another instantly. We play notes by blowing and drawing in the first place. I'm sure we can handle a variety of methods.
The moment you get into the pros and cons about YOUR preference and how it's implied to be "better" than the other method basically means that you are saying "my way is better and I know more than you". Even if you might not mean it.
I'd be careful about that kinda thing when talking to other harp players. Most of have tried both and just pick what works best for ourselves. The debate on which is better is boring, pointless, old, and a highly flammable topic. Did I mention it's boring?
Sticking to just one method is called LIMITATION. Using both is dedication... in my opinion. :p
Also, if my lips, mouth or throat is in bad shape I don't play the harp at all. Why? Because those parts of my body are assets. Without them I cannot play harp. I take good care of them because of that. I take it as a wonderful little phase where I do nothing but listen to music that inspires me and also sort out my thoughts on where I'm heading with the harp. Downtime is a good thing and not necessarily a total "down" time. ;) Take advantage of it and it'll help you a lot. A lot of great players have always encouraged this as well.
jon, please let yourself recover instead of making your condition worst. You lose out more in the end if you don't take good care of yourself. It's not like you're in a middle of an important recording session or concert. That's the only time when you don't have a choice.
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http://www.youtube.com/harmonicazhin
Last Edited by on Jan 17, 2010 10:02 PM
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jonsparrow
1737 posts
Jan 17, 2010
10:37 PM
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"It's not like you're in a middle of an important recording session or concert. That's the only time when you don't have a choice."
HPC3 is coming up. ;)
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Sirsucksalot
154 posts
Jan 17, 2010
10:52 PM
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Never had canker sores or cold sores but some times i get a pimple that's really deep. Usually where my hand rubs my face. If i leave it alone its gone in a couple days. but what is worse is when i get chapped lips. I get them a lot i think because i live in a really dry climate. So i always bring some chap stick with me to jams just in case.
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