Get better tone
Hello Harmonica Players out there,
i kind of struggle with me tone, i think it sounds kind of constricted and something is missing when i compare to other harmonica players.
Here is an example:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqoIl9YDMirMjbMrc3SRgAwSIlHSnA?e=zEMj3a
I play on a Seydel 1847 in A in the example.
Do you have an ideas how i can get better tone?
thanks and best regards. :)
Yes, i've watched the video and tried several things from it.
Can you hear something out of my example?
You tone is actually fine. Is any air moving through your nose when you play? Most of the time that should be sealed off.
Are you comparing your sound to someone playing amplified?
Your tone is good. Bends are generally in tune, you're doing dips good, vibrato is good.
Since your want to improve, here's some critique, but again I think that sounds pretty good already:
- Make notes longer, you're ending them a bit short and that leaves silences at the end of the phrase.
- It seems your flutter could sound thicker. Is your mouth covering four holes? If you are not, try widening your embouchure using David's tongue exercise where you play 1 blue, 4 blow, 1-4 blow octave, 1 draw, 4 draw, 1-4 draw octave, etc up to the 3-6 blow octave and back.
- Are you slapping where you can? I forget how David plays this one, but I think you can also slap 2 draw (when not dipping/starting bent) and try to exaggerate your slaps so the chordal part is more prominent. Also, make sure your slaps cover 4 holes (see my previous point about how to practice for that).
- It seems you're rushing your tempo a bit. Since My Blues is a slow blues, you want the feel to be not so uptempo. Let notes linger at times and make it a bit faster in other passages.
- Are you running out of air? Try to play softer and to work on closing your nose on inhales, if that is a problem.
- Take a look at the lesson on dynamics and try to apply that. Change your volume of playing through the song, more dramatically, within the phrase.
- When playing double stops, try letting leak in more of the higher note. Try letting less leak in and see what sounds best to you. More leak in might give you a fuller (but also can get a bit obnoxious) sound.
I'm myself trying to work on all these in my play. Of course, the difficulty is doing all of the above while playing a challenging tune, which is why you'll get better tone once you have played the song many times and technique isn't the main focus while your play.
But, let me repeat myself again, you already sound pretty good. Have you tried recording yourself amplified? That's another way to check your tone and other technique.
Cheers!
I was typing my long message and when I posted it turns out Winslow had replied in between and he pointed out a couple of the things I was also mentioning =)
Thanks for valuable reply, you're critique is very much apprechiated.
I will get through your list at my next practice sessions.
I've recorded myself playing amplified, with a amp i like my tone much more.
@Winslow
You tone is actually fine. Is any air moving through your nose when you play
I'm not 100% sure, but i think some air goes through the nose while playing.
During the end of the first bar i need to exhale, or i can't play the lick after the dips of the second bar.
I'm comparing my tone mostly to David (a bit unrealistic comparision), with players from youtube and ryan while he plays the same material. They all play accoustic.
I often think that something is missing, don't know maybe it is the same concept that the own voice recorded sounds strange.
Do you have any tips on how to block the nose while playing?
I've tried yawning and pretending on the back of my hand as if i were blowing up a balloon.
Thanks for your help :)
Here are some extensions to the balloon exercise.
To review, to blow up a balloon, you naturally close off your nasal passages with your soft palate at the back of the roof of your mouth. This concentrates the air pressure in your mouth; without that you can't blow up the balloon.
With harmonica, it's mostly not about pressure. It's about two things:
- Conserving air so it all goes through the harmonica and doesn't run out too soon.
- Strengthening your influence over the reed, including both tone and bending.
In the balloon exercise, you hold your lips closed and imagine blowing up a balloon. When you try to exhale, your cheeks bulge out and when you try to inhale they suck in.
How does that work?
At the back of the roof of your mouth is the soft palate, a bit that you can wag up or down.
When it wags down, it blocks off your mouth from your air column and all the air goes through your nose. When you snore, it flaps up and down, blocking and unblocking your mouth from your breathing.
When it wags up, it blocks off all the air from your nasal passages. If you talk while it's in the up position, you sound like you have a cold, because all the N and M sounds get most of their character in the nasal passages.
Wagged up is what is needed to blow up a balloon or, mostly when you play the harmonica.
But once you get away from doing the balloon exercise and put a harmonica in your mouth, habit may take over and you may start nose breathing.
So here are some extensions to the balloon exercise.
Do the thing of holding your lips closed and exhaling to puff up your cheeks.
- Keep your lips closed and continue to pushing air forward as if exhaling.
- Now, release your soft palate (lips still closed). Your cheeks will deflate as pressure is released and air flows through your nose.
- Continue to exhale and close your nasal passages again and feel the pressure inflating your cheeks.
- Repeat this several times, with two or more release/block alternations. Note the sensation of your soft palate blocking and releasing. Knowing what that action feels like gives you access to do it consciously and control it.
Now, do the same thing while inhaling, in a suction/release cycle, again doing two or more iterations on a single inhaled breath.
Now, I’m going to modify the exercise again.
This time, let your lips be slightly open so that air escapes through them, but only with pressure on the exhale and suction on the inhale.
You don't need to pucker you lips into an O shape. Instead, let them be relaxed as if you were playing a chord on an air harmonica, but just slightly open so that air has trouble getting through.
Do the block/release cycle with air moving through your lips so tht you can feel the change between block and release even with air moving in and out of your mouth.
When your try this with a harmonica in your mouth, the pressure and suction sensation should go away - air moves freely in and out of the harmonica.
But now you have a good awareness of inhaling and exhaling with your nasal passages either blocked or open.
Practice long chords or single notes with the block/release cycle.
Then play short familiar phrases while consciously blocking your nasal passages.
Then practice exercises and scales - again familiar ones so that you can concentrate on keeping your nasal passages closed.
over time, you can make a default habit of playing with your nasal passages closed, and open them only when you want or need to.
Arion941
Have you visited the FAQ section? There is a wealth of information there.
Frequently Asked Questions General Technique 6th (last) topic I want better tone!