Tongue Blocking
Just want to start by saying I am enjoying the lessons so far. I have been practicing on my own for about a month and was getting used to the pucker method, so the tongue blocking has been difficult but I think I am slowly getting the hang of it. I am running into this problem:
1) Particularly on the 6 draw on chorus 3 of Walk with Me, I inadvertently raise the back of my tongue and either no air comes through or it's muted/wrong note. When I try to fight hard to keep my tongue down I end up gagging myself, so I'm obviously doing something wrong. I don't seem to have this problem on the 3 and 4 draw.
Thanks,
Alex
I figured out that I was clamping down too hard with my lips - once I focused on using a gentle touch that pretty much solved the 6 draw problem I was having (I was also tilting the harmonica unknowingly). I can even hit the 7 fairly reliably now (8 and 9 are still giving me trouble).
As I've been practicing, I notice that around a half hour it gets difficult to hold my jaw in a "yawn" position and my cheeks get tired, and it's harder to hit clean notes. Is this a stamina issue that will go away over time or am I doing something wrong with how I'm holding my mouth position? It's usually a bummer because I will start hitting a stride and suddenly my cheeks start giving out.
Thanks,
Alex
Great to hear Alex, thanks for checking in. Yeah, stamina, and the better you get, the less tension you'll use while playing... so time will fix this.
Hello Alex. Welcome to the site, I'm glad that you're enjoying your studies.
Keep at the tongue block... though it feels strange now, after about a month it will start to feel comfortable and natural.
Place the harmonica softly on your tongue and lips, bringing the harmonica into your mouth, instead of you bringing your lips and tongue to the harmonica. I think this will fix your issue.
Start low on the harmonica (say 3+) and slowly slide the harmonica to your left so that you move up the harmonica. Make sure the harmonica is gliding smoothly on top of your tongue (not the tip). Do the same with draws, opening up a touch more (the draws will have more of a tendency to bend on you).
You'll find that the higher holes to have no difference in embouchure... just slide that harp. The goal is to then keep this same relaxed approach as you move up the harmonica while playing song.
If you haven't already watched them, watch my videos with Contributors Sharon Barrett and Hob Bosold, we spend a lot of time on dialing in a good embouchure.
Work on this for a bit and report back.