Posted by Bill Phelb (209.178.128.225) on June 01, 2000 at 02:27:32:
In Reply to: Re: lipping vs. tongue blocking posted by Marc on May 31, 2000 at 18:21:27:
: : Hi all, thanks for reading this.
: : I've been harping for over two years and made some slow but solid progress.
: : I just discovered this GREAT! site recently and have come to the conclusion that I've
: : been LIPPING my way through all this time. Can anybody tell me WHY tongue blocking is the preferable technique to produce clear single notes?
: : I made a start on trying tongue blocking last night and think I need that WHY to get me there.
: : Hope someone can help!
: : Thanks and the best to you all,
: : Niels ~ The Netherlands
: Niels -
: The choice of technique depends on the type of music you are playing. For most standard blues-type music, whistle-method (lipping) is what I use. Tongue-blocking allows you to periodically lift the tongue, thus allowing several notes to play at once. This can give you a rhythmic accompaniment to your melody. This works best in straight harp, because of the way the chords lay out. Some people learn tongue-blocking only, and use this as their preferred method of single notes. There is nothing wrong with this, but it is more difficult to learn to bend notes while tongue blocking.
: Good Luck
: -- Marc
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I agree with what Marc says but will add that almost all good players will utimately learn both methods because they each have their own advantages and disadvantages. I myself will use the whistle method (lipping) the majority of the time and will then use the tongue blocking when I want to add special effects. As Marc said, the ratio of using one or the other varies according to what I'm playing and what the situation calls for. And yes, bending is much easier to learn and do with the whistle method.
Bill