Hello again, everyone! Another post-gym bit of harmonica fun.
I recently picked up a Hohner Special 20 harmonica and started breaking it in. Not sure how long the process will take, but it seems to be going well.
Along the way, I've been reviewing a few of my past videos. I'm realizing now that I have been playing pretty 'breathy' or 'airy' on the harp, which is due to a mix of reasons:
Too much air being let out of the nose. I test this by pinching my nose shut, which makes the sound much fuller.
Too little volume. This is a habit I've probably gotten into as I try to keep my playing relatively quiet and polite.
Poor embrochure. This is something that's been happening after I changed my grip on the harmonica. Originally, my hands formed too much of a gap to allow me to 'slap' the harp to change the sound. After changing my hands, my new finger position had a habit of pushing my lips off the cover plates. Now I have to fix my lips to get a better air seal.
Fix one thing, create three more problems. Or a fourth - the new lip and hand position is throwing off my feel for where I am on the harp. Seem to keep mixing up around holes 6 and 7.
But also - fixing this stuff is half the fun!
Side note - my lower lip/jaw feels like it keeps retreating. I need to work those lower jaw muscles to keep everything forward.
I feel pretty close to a good foundation of skills. Still need work on a few of the various techniques, but I can also practice those while learning an actual song. Puckering is something I should really get right before I want to practice anything other than the few songs I know.
Good news about all these changes, though - I seem to be able to bend hole 3 and am starting to bend holes 2. Progress!
00:00 Intro
01:20 Testing Sound
02:13 Nose Leak
03:00 Feeling the Comb
04:47 Octave
06:10 Bending
07:50 Mountain
08:12 Outro
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These videos are created without the use of AI.
I believe that using AI as a generative artistic tool will inevitably lead to the downfall of human imagination and ingenuity. In the same vein, it will lead to the utter destruction of whole artistic industries.
Do not hand the power of your imagination to something else.
Who are we when we no longer dream?
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