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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
rambling thoughts about Big Walter's embouchure
rambling thoughts about Big Walter's embouchure
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bandini
37 posts
Apr 24, 2026
8:52 AM
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Like many of y'all I've gone through what appears to be a very typical 6 stage embouchure journey, which seems often to go as follows:
1) start off puckering everything and not even aware of tongue-blocking
2) eventually start using splits and octaves
3) get more and more into tongue blocking, eventually learning to bend single notes
4) Go through a (often somewhat evangelical) period of playing everything 100% TB'd
5) eventually start incorporating puckering back into it
6) Settle into a hybrid approach
Judging from the interviews on David Barrett's site, this appears to be the pattern for just about every major player, with pretty few exceptions.
I've never stopped being obsessed with Big Walter - he was the guy who kicked off my harp obsession 40 years ago and I'm still mystified by much of his playing,
However, having been studying a lot of his videos on youtube, I'm now feeling pretty positive that he was a hybrid player and very frequently switched back and forth.
Over the years I've spoken with many people who knew Walter personally and many of them have relayed to me that Walter used both embouchures, but now having reached that "hybrid" point in my own playing, I'm more able to recognize the physical movements that indicate switching.
For example, in this video he is clearly switching at 0:52ish to play that 3 draw with the half step bend. You can see him move his mouth over into the pucker position. I've filmed myself doing it both ways and I look exactly the way he does when I switch for that note. If I do the whole thing in TB, it looks noticeably different.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkKqpF1xf3Y
There are many other such examples.
I vastly prefer just staying in TB 100% of the time, but have definitely observed that there are certain sounds I can't quite get with the same precision, primarily with regard to the half step bend on the 3 draw.
Knowing that Walter switched for those effects as well somehow humanizes him a bit for me.:)
Having studied the few videos of Little Walter available I believe he was doing the same. Sonny Boy is trickier for me - still studying his videos. Also interested in studying footage of William Clarke, who is someone else I've always been very curious about embouchure-wise. Clarke and Big Walter have what are to me, personally, the perfect sound on harmonica so what they were doing technically is of particular interest to this nerd.
Anyway, just thought someone might be interested in these ramblings...:) Cheers!
-Chris
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Bluebird
50 posts
Apr 27, 2026
2:34 PM
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I enjoyed your ramblings
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Sundancer
427 posts
Apr 29, 2026
8:56 AM
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Great post. Does puckering on the one-hole only count as step #5 ?
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bandini
38 posts
May 01, 2026
8:08 AM
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Yeah, the one hole is the oddity/variable as we all know. I've never felt certain that "puckering" exactly describes what is done on that hole, simply because there is nowhere to the left on the harp to put your tongue.
When I "pucker" the one, I don't experience the feeling of having to shift my embouchure the way I do when I pucker any other hole.
Big Walter quite obviously blocks out of the other side of his mouth for the one much of the time, as do many of y'all I'm sure. I can do that fine and practice it sometimes, but can never seem to remember to do it when I'm actually playing.:)
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