Air brakes
Mon, 12/20/2010 - 15:00
Just been listening to the Lost Fox Train piece off Hazmat Modine's brilliant album and it got me thinking about the different air brake noises I've heard on train pieces (as well as on other stuff). Is there a variety of air release techniques in the same way that there are other techniques like pulls, slap, trills and so on? I guess it depends on the player too, but I've definitely heard a range of different sounds.
The gold standard is "FFF" when playing a chord. This is where your lips barely touch the harmonica, upper set of teeth touch lower lips (just like "FFF") and most of the air escapes around the harmonica. You can experiment with other ideas, but this is the most common.