Moisture I think
Thu, 08/18/2022 - 00:35
Hi,
I've recently come to this school because I wanted to add tongue blocking to my repertoire, having been on this harp journey for a little over two years and always lip pursed.
I have noticed that tongue blocking causes me to generate far more moisture but have been told to expect that. However, this is almost entirely about the fact that this seems to be causing the 5 draw reed to stick, no others. I was told that you might be able to shine some light on this, is there any way I can stop this, or is it just a matter of time?
Thanks,
Graham
I already posted a version of this in the other copy of your query in the general forum:
Eventually your nervous system will decide that this foreign object doesn't need to be floated away or digested by an outpouring of saliva, and will give up. Meanwhile, tap you your harp out frequently, and avoid playing immediately after eating, drinking, or brushing your teeth, any of which can stimulate saliva all on their own.
Pre-bending - unintentional bending - can occur with both pucker and tongue block, and for the same reason: your tongue is placed in your mouth in such a way that it tunes your mouth to a note other than the one the reed normally produces. If it's tuned outside the bending range for that note, you can get reluctant start or no start at all to the note, the dying cow moan, various squeaks and squeals, or no sound at all.
As you play a note, check the sensation of air moving through your mouth. If there's any feeling of drag, suction, or pressure, open up so that air flows easily without resistance. If you remove the harp from your mouth as you breathe, the air flow should be silent.
Also, make sure you're not crowding the hole at the lips. If yhe opening in your muth (lips, or lips and tongue edge) is smaller than the hole, the narrowed opening will create drag, with results similar to drag created inside the mouth. One way to work on this is to play two neighboring holes together, then slowly reduce the opening to just the point where you no longer hear both holes. This gives you the biggest one-hole opening, which makes for easy airflow at the point of transfer between your body and the harmonica.