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From: JfGindi~ol.com
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 23:51:30 -0400
Subject: Re: Who Nose?

Hi Jon;

On Thu, 17 Oct 1996 JfGindi~ol.com wrote:

> One of the biggest problems I face with beginners is that they play every
> draw note slightly bent. It is equally important to learn to play notes
> unbent.

I agree. If their harps ALL sound out of tune, it's extremely
discouraging.

> Fooling around with the nose thing yesterday, I learned that closing
> off the nose with kind of a silent snort does add a certain power to the
bend
> that might be useful for beginners. In fact a person might get into a bend,
> just by concentrating on the nose closing (even though there's a lot more
> than that going on.) Maybe it would help beginning benders to try closing
> their noses on the, say, bent 4 draw,

This was my point. I find that most beginners have tone to die for, e.g.
it kills us to listen to it :-) While most "think" they want to learn
melodies and licks (notes), in actuality what they want is to SOUND good
(quality).

> and to open their noses on the unbent. By the way since we're talking about
> tone, I consider my open nose to be one way that I get my resonance.

And it could well be that you have developed a resonance that works with
an open nose. My resonance technique is definitely a "closed system", and
therefore I find that opening my nose 1. kills resonance, and 2. kills
bends. As a resourceful player, I put this to work for me - just as I'm
sure you likewise turn every facet possible into usable technique. You
didn't get to be a killer harp player by leaving obstacles in place as
obstacles - it was by turning these into advantages.

> However,
> it should be added that I tend toward a sweeter tone than many of the blues
> players on the list, and this may be a factor.

I also like a "sweet tone", although I prefer using a distorted amplifier
for my "style". People like it, and for what I'm doing (almost chromatic
style single note playing with resonance), it gives a singularly unique
sound. I get some sessions where the producer wants an undistorted sound,
and I'm happy to accommodate. On certain tunes, this is more effective.
But my "sound" is my trademark, and so I try to use it on all my own
recordings.

> In my teaching, I try to make
> suggestions that will help students discover what works for them.

yup - that's the only way! I have one student who uses V-blocking. While
I know absolutely nothing about that embouchure (I'm still a pure
puckerer), I know plenty of other stuff, and he's making great progress,
using what's comfortable to him.

> I could
> say, "Try bending with the nose open? Doesn't work? Try bending with your
> nose closed? Does work? Try bending..." I believe that people learn to play
> from the inside out and that what doesn't work for one guy will work for
> someone else and vice versa. One reason for this is the inadequacy of words
> to get people to do the subtle things
> that give us the effects, and also that people are different.
> By making suggestions that the beginner can try, the teacher increases the
> players sensitivity and imagination and it is here that the breakthrough
will
> eventually occur. Jon

Yup. I think that's the key. Harp is inherently difficult to teach
because we can't show what goes on inside our mouths, etc. I think the
good teacher lets the student explore and experiment in guided directions,
and when he HEARS something (ANYTHING) that works, jumps on to it,
reinforces it, and helps the student understand what he just did and how
to repeat it. Even though a book isn't quite the same, you can use the
same principle by having the STUDENT listen for you - or as you phrase it,
you increase "the players sensitivity and imagination".


-- IronMan Mike Curtis
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