hands

I'm seeing a lot of students squeezing the harp when holding. Relax those hands... if you're not achieving the desired result, experiment with the angle of your hands. Visit http://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/cupping_hand_effects and http://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/intro_lesson_1_18_harmonica_insights

Most things work in concert in regards to our body. If your hands are relaxed, then your tongue, mouth, neck and back muscles are more likely to be relaxed. Turn your harp around and look at the cover plates. Are they slightly crushed inwards? If so, start working on relaxing your hands and you'll start noticing other parts of your body starting to relax as well.

When approaching a new technique, we tend to tense up and use more of our body than necessary to perform a task. This is understandable at first, but you don't want to stay that way. A relaxed body is faster and more resilient.

Here's a simplistic, but effective way to incorporate your hands while playing. Go to http://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/solo_harmonica_study_2 and study Ex. 1.5. While playing single notes, open your hands. When playing chords, close your hands (cupped). Playing this way emphasizes the melody (louder and brighter in tone) and de-emphasizes the chording (softer and more muted/bassy). This accentuates the impression that two harmonica players are playing.

These are the subjects Joe Filisko will be teaching at the 20th Anniversary Harmonica Masterclass Workshop. There's still limited space in Joe's classes if you would like to join us for this special one-time event.

Joe's YouTube Video Description of Classes
http://youtu.be/v9BdDVcFSZY