Scales are always a good thing to practice.
Practicing your scales helps you find your way around your instrument.
Just like childhood melodies a major scale is something you can probably sing in tune, practicing the different major scales will help to improve your intonation.
Listen to yourself when you play the scales, try to be aware of the sounds you produce. This can be difficult when you are just starting out and are still trying to find the right notes.
Don't try to play fast, but try to play the scale well.
Pay atention to the transitions between the notes, the length of each note and the tone.
Chromatic scale
When playing a note short and with power, try to play with a constant position of the tongue and lips.
Make sure the power needed for the short attack is generated from the diaphragm and not from motion in the tongue.
Practice this by first playing a slow controlled note, concentrating on the position of the tongue. Stop the airflow without changing the shape of the mouth and the play the note by producing short bursts of air from the diphragm.
While doing this try to think of projecting your breath trough the harp.
A good way to practice to relax the facial muscles when playing an overblow is practicing a very slow vibrato.
Gently play the overblow and start a slow wide vibrato. While playing the vibrato concentrate on the muscles in your cheeks and lips.
These should be relaxed since they are not needed for playing the overblow nor for producing the vibrato.
Example Eb slow vibrato
I watched your video. I have to really disagree with what you consider to be "proof". Here's why. You changed the position of the harmonica; but, not the angle of the air. Your airflow is equally constant in all four positions that you played. However, if you put the harmonica in your mouth, keeping the harmonica parallel to the floor and gradually, rotate the harmonica vertically (upwards or downwards) while holding on to both ends of the harmonica (left hand on or near hole 1 and the right hand on or near hole 10),you, then you will be changing the angle of the air.
The mouth, the throat, tongue all contributing to the volumic air flow also affects the speed of the air and it's that air that is angularly changing; not what you demonstrated. You can try the angle I mentioned, while both blowing and drawing air at consecutive angles, while listening to the sound changes because of the varied angles (which are infinite)and the pitches in a glissando will verify my point.
respectfully yours......Guy Gee
So here it is... Love to hear your thoughts about it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_ouWKfy9fk
Guy
i have a question according to rick eppings technique: How - did he rounded the corner, and what tool do i need? Best regards ULI
In a workshop at the World Harmonica Festival Rick Epping showed a technique where all the exposed edges on the reed are rounded off. So not the corners at the tip are rounded, but the corners of the edges along the side of the reed are rounded. Apparently this makes it easier for the reed to swing back trough the plate, thus causing it to react better to the player.