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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Swtching from TB to LP
Swtching from TB to LP
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harpdude61
1301 posts
Mar 17, 2012
4:46 AM
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Mr. So and So,
Not sure why your lips would be sticking while lip blocking?
I appreciate your last comment but I would not catagorize lip blocking as simply single note playing.
One of Adam's early lessons was about going from 2 draw to the 123 draw while pursing. One I use often is the 4 draw bent going to the 345 draw chord with a kuh kuh rhythm. Double stops as well shuld be just as easy with either method.
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hvyj
2257 posts
Mar 17, 2012
7:39 AM
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You know, one of the most important aspects of getting good tone LPing is making sure to form AS LARGE AN AIR APERTURE AS POSSIBLE consistent with getting a single note which is much larger than you might think, and certainly much larger than the "sipping through a straw" analogy you see explained in so many instructional materials.
Of course, deep embouchure, dropped relaxed jaw, open airway, etc. are also part of it.
Last Edited by on Mar 17, 2012 8:19 AM
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mr_so&so
530 posts
Mar 17, 2012
11:25 AM
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@harpdude61, It was not my intention to take this discussion anywhere near a TB v. LB (lip block) debate, and I'm sorry if I gave that impression. I was just trying to share my personal experience. I know that it is very possible to emulate most of the TB techniques using LB, I just found that when I was primarily LBing, I wasn't doing that very much. I also find that having my tongue on the harp adds a bit more lubrication to it than when I LB, and this makes it easier for me to slide the harp. BTW, I admire people like you who have totally embraced the overbend technique and become very proficient with it pretty early in the learning curve (if that was the case for you). I think your posts have inspired me to keep at it.
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harpdude61
1302 posts
Mar 17, 2012
1:46 PM
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mr. so&so...no, I didn't think that for a second. I guess I was so hung up on Lip Blocking and so afraid to try TBing that I worked hard on ways to emulate the technique. Now I see the value in knowing both.
Tongue lube makes sense.
Inspired by Adam, I almost have The Entertainer ready to play at open mics. The first three notes are 4 draw, 4 overblow,5 blow and they are quick passing notes...then I play the next part octave TBing before going back to those same 3 notes for the next line. So moving between the two techniques quickly is important.
I did get wrapped up in OBs when I started playing...I wish now that I had got just as wrapped up in other techniques...especially side TBing. Buddha said he always started new students on OBs the same time they started bending.
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Andy Ley
162 posts
Mar 19, 2012
6:17 AM
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Blimey! A TB vs. LP conversation that has stretched to 2 pages, shared tips and tricks from both sides, and still not descending into a massive bun fight. . .I think I've come to the wrong forum ;)
I've just made the switch in the other direction, and am loving dropping syncopated chord stabs into the first position songs I learnt when I first started playing. My bending on TB is pathetic right now though, so thanks to everyone who dropped some info into the thread.
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barbequebob
1834 posts
Mar 19, 2012
9:04 AM
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When LB switch to TB, a HUGE problem most of them have is that their embouchure is often times not opened up adequately to do it and they tend to (ESPECIALLY if they're teaching themselves) constantly forcing everything to happen, so that when you force it, you tighten up, the tongue is often slammed down on the harp, wheras you need it to rest VERY LIGHTLY or you wind up slobbering all over it and the tongue and lips get stuck and you slow down a lot. This alone causes people newer to this method to have problems getting around it quickly. You need to be physically relaxted 24/7 because you DO need to make adjustments on the fly with your embouchure to do anything in order to crate enough space to do anything with it.
Another thing is that too many players are often WAY too closed up and so they don't have quite enough of the instrument in their mouths to do anything with it.
For more speed, I sugggest you learn the method classical chromatic players use (and most of them tend to be TB guys in a major way) and instead of moving the head, move the instrument in a very small arc so you have fewer head movements, essentially move your head and not the harp and you can actually play considerably faster this way. Players new to this 99% of the time will use too much of a wide, jerky, overexaggerated arc and they make things tough for themselves whenever they do it this way.
Never stiffen up with your embouchure and you need to be physically relaxed at ALL times and not use what I call the D.A.M. method which, tho politically incorrect, describes to a T what the average player tends to do all the time when they're teaching themselves, and the DAM method is the Dumb Ass Macho method where they're forcing EVERYTHING to happen, basically trying to beat the damned harp ito submission, which is far from a smart thing to do and you automatically stiffen up to the point you're just constantly shooting yourself in the foot.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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Stevelegh
439 posts
Mar 19, 2012
9:18 AM
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@ Bob,
Thanks for the tip on the 'arc' method. That makes a lot of sense. I've been toiling with the gospel licks from one of Todd's videos and LP with the harp pointed upwards as in the Christelle video on this thread and with your tip, I'm making major leaps.
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barbequebob
1837 posts
Mar 19, 2012
9:21 AM
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The other thing that the arc method is great for is when you have to play stuff where there are incredibly wide interval leaps that have to be played with extreme speed and preciseness, which you find in a lot of jazz and moving your head slows you down way too much to make this happen.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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