air leaking
Hello David,
While im playing i notice there is air leaking from my right mouth corner. I especially notice this when drawing multiple notes. I tried changing my lips and relaxing/tightening them but it doest really seem to work. Could this be caused by the type of harmonica i play (i bought a fender blues one to practice in A but have 2 C harmonicas, a marine band and a suzuki harpmaster) or is it a problem with the way i play?
Regards,
Thank you for the reply,
By ''the sides of my lips do not purse'' do you mean your lips are relaxed? I seem to put some stress on my lips if im not paying attention to that.
I dont think its the accidentally bending, i can sort of feel the air going through the side of my mouth (not through the harmonica) I will do some testing with putting the harmonica deeper into my mouth and see if that helps!
Yes, my lips are relaxed... not pursed... and what I was focusing on stating is that the entire circumference of my lips touch the harmonica (you may not have the harmonica deep enough in your mouth). Note in my videos that I also tilt the face of the harmonica downwards, which also helps this (allows me to more easily have all of my lips on the harmonica, because with the tilted embouchure, I can have my lips more open).
Thank you, i decided on purchasing a Honhner special 20 in A, im going to try the tips you gave me and keep on playing!
Hello Rero. Though the Fender Blues is not a good harmonica, the Marine Band and Harpmaster are. So it doesn't seem like it's the harmonica. It seems like you're looking at the right things to check (light touch with your tongue and lips on the face of the harmonica).
Also check that the harmonica is deep enough in your mouth (all of my lips touch the harmonica... the sides of my lips do not purse).
Also something to keep in mind is that some players hear an airy sound, but it has nothing to do with the lips or tongue on the face of the harmonica, it has to do with the tuning of the mouth, via tongue position. If your tongue is humped up in the middle or back, while playing standard notes, the tongue position will try to bend the note. Since it's not much of a bend, it effects the reed slightly, and the way it effects it is that not all of the air goes to the vibration of the reed. The result is an airy, and commonly a slightly flat/dull sound. Also check this.