Optimum Embouchure for Chromatic Harmonica Players?
Hello Winslow, for both tongue and lip blockers, the benefits of a tilted up (back of harmonica raised higher than the mouthpiece) embouchure for diatonic and chromatic blues harmonica are well documented.
For Jazz Chromatic, single hole type players, I've noticed that many prefer a tilted down embouchure (top cover plate faces the audience). Look no further than a video of the late great and legendary BeBop maestro--Toots Thielman.
What are your thoughts regarding this "pan flute" type of embouchure?
Kinya
Hi Winslow, over the past few months, I have emersed myself in the study of chromatic harmonicas and wanted to make certain I wasn't cheating myself out of the best possible playing experience. Thanx again!
Kinya
i have recently taken an interest in chromatic harp playing myself and have similar questions. My interest is not only in blues, but other styles such as Irish music, and eventually jazz and classical. I recently purchased a book/cd package from, and written by, Brendan Power, called "Irish Music for the "C" chromatic; ( he does state that if you're going to play irish music with other musicians, you'll want chromatics in the violin/fiddle friendly keys of G and D and possibly A). He advocates tilting the back of the harp upward, and a pucker embouchure like in whistling as opposed to a more vertical corner blocking type, or tongue blocking.
slidemeister.org has a forum for other viewpoints
Tongue blocking and corner switching are actually very useful for fiddle tunes. Brendan has his own approach that works great for him, but it wou;d not work for me. For instance, try playing this fast, smooth, and accurately without corner switching:
5 6 4 6 5 6 4 6
...but what exactly is corner switching. I have your book Harmonica for Dummies book on order from Amazon, and I'm sure it's explained in it. Are you referring to tongue switching like we use for the 1 hole in tongue blocking?
If I understand correctly, the 100% tongue blocking embouchue I now use, can serve me well for other styles, at least for the majority of the time? That would be great news. I only have an interest in learning some fiddle tunes in addition to blues. When I eventually obtain a chromatic, I eventually want to learn some jazz as well.
PS; I think when it arrives, I will send the Dummies book back to Amazon and order it directly from your website. I assume you would obtain the full purchase amount that way. I have no problem in doing that. I should have considered that before I ordered from Amazon.
You can do nearly anything with tongue blocking, except for a few very rapid articulations.
Corner swtiching is where you shift between playing out of the right corner of your mouth (which is the default for most tongue blockers) and the left. If the note on the left side is already in your mouth, you just shift your tongue over so that the holes already blocked in the middle stay blocked, and the open hole shifts to the other corner. That way you can move accurately and cleanly to a distant hole without interrupting breath flow.
For instance, that 5 6 4 6 5 6 4 6 pattern would look like this with corner switching (L for left, R for right):
R5 R6 L4 R6 R5 R6 L4 R6
With three holes consistent in your mouth, you'd start on the right side in 5, then shift your entire embouchure one hole to the right (just as you would if you weren't corner siwtching). At that point, Hole 4 is on the left side, so you just shift your tongue to the right to cover 6 and uncover 4, then switch back to 6.
My website will direct you to Amazon. Thanks for thinking of me, but I don't maintain inventory of my books - shipping is too expensive to make it economically feasible.
...for all the information. I'm glad to know that the 100% tongue block embouchure that I use as of now, will be useful in other styles that I explore down the road, unlike others have stated. I realize that there are a handful of specific techniques that I can learn when called for. Of course "to each his own", but I'm comfortable tongue blocking, and I'm very glad that I'll be able to use it as my default embouchure.
BTW, your book arrived and I'm really enjoying it, and with the vast amount of information contained within, I'm certain that after I finish reading it, I'll be refering back to it for a long time to come.
Mainmark, as a violinist I can tell you that there are NO keys that are friendly or not friendly for the fiddle. It's just that we play the standard tunes and they are often in D or G (for other reasons than the fiddle I would have to assume). I think that standard tunes are often written in those keys mostly for guitars and the like because producing an F chord on the guitar is difficult. Not any one note on the violin is harder or easier. You can sharpen or flatten any note by just moving one finger a tiny bit higher or lower on the violin. A lot of fiddle tunes I find people like to play in A for some reason with three sharps. It's all the same to me. Playing two notes at the same time (doublestops) however is hard (to be in tune) in any key. Maybe it's because some people just practice doublestops in one or two keys? Who knows? But, if you want to be able to play with a violin, you need to be able to go anywhere like the violin does so easily - I mean, if anything could be called "easy" on the violin. :D
I've spent dozens of nights watching Toots live, in addition to watching video and examining photographs. While some photos appear to show a slightl downward tilt - but nothing even approaching anything as extreme as a vertical panfllute position - the preponderance of my memory (and many photographs) is that he pretty much played it untilted. (That said, I've seen him in demo mode duing interviews tilting it down significantly with his hands pulled away to reveal the top cover. I wonder whether this was to provide a clearer visual to the camera.)
Hendrik Muerkens seems to tilt slightly up.
Hermine Deurloo seems to hold it level.
Grégoire Maret appears to tilt it slightly down.
The small aount of tilt I'm seeing in photos doesn't seem to be enough to have any effect on air flow or airtightness, lip friction that might intrfere with quick movement, or much else.
I remain skeptical of the benefits of tilting the back of the harp up or down. I've never done either as a practice, or noticed any benefit from trying them.
Are you forming a hypothesis?