TB and airtightness
Hi. I too am a pucker player trying to learn TB. I appreciate your Special Note to Pucker Players, but still, I want to TB all your lessons, because puckering the first three holes on, for instance, Walk With Me, is just too easy and I wouldn't learn anything. The only real problem I still have is airtightness. No matter how much I try, I always hear air escaping on the 2 and 3 blows on my A harmonica, whereas when I pucker them, they're airtight. If I change the angle of my harmonica or try to blow softer there's some progress, but never enough. Do you have any tips? Thanks!
Wow, that was fast! Thanks. I'm pretty sure it's a lip-seal, not a tongue, problem. Everything's fine on hole 4 up, but on 2 and 3 the harmonica's in the mouth, I mean the left cheek, and so I think it's harder to seal. Anyway, I'm working on it. It's true that thinking about relaxing the lips helps, but on hole 2 at least, there's a bit of a pucker involved in sealing, so the lips are less than totally relaxed.
You're right, 2 is smaller, though I don't feel my lips "pucker." The sides of my lips are still touching the harmonica... maybe you could experiment with having the harmonica a little deeper in the mouth. You'll get it, we're just talking of micro-adjustements here.
P.S., each hole has a different pitch associated with it, so tongue location in the mouth does affect each hole differently. A tongue placement that doesn't affect hole 4 and above, still can affect holes 3 and below. This is why 80% of new players cannot play a 2 draw... it's all about lowering the middle and back of the tongue.
Thank you!
Thank you also. Exact same issue(s) here. It's always good to know you're not the only one. ;)
Hello ungar. Use a light touch with your tongue on the face of the harmonica. Your lips should also be relaxed (if they're tense, your lips are no longer able to keep a good seal). Tilting the face (hole-side) of the harmonica down a tad helps a little bit (I personally play at 30 degree angle). Also keep in mind, though the blade of your tongue is on the face of the harmonica, the middle and back of your tongue should be down. Sometimes the "air escaping" is through the harmonica and not around your lips, and this is caused by the location of your tongue (how it tunes the resonant chamber of your mouth).