Extra sessions' Q&A

1. How to sound brighter and clearer on harmonica? No matter how hard I tried, the sound produced sounded dim or even with unstable notes.
Make sure that your air flow is parallel to the harmonica reed in order to have the maximum sound quality produced, i.e. keep the harmonica body parallel to your lips, not slanted upwards/downwards.

2. There is always a very short lag time (between the time I start blowing and the time when the sound is produced) for higher octave notes. Any suggestion to improve on this?
Use your tongue to give an ‘attack’ to the note (to increase the air speed). This will effectively eliminate the lag.

3. What determines the tone of my harmonica sound?
Embouchure (determines the volume) and airspeed (determines the stability of the sound)
Sometimes if your embouchure is too small (to avoid playing two holes at once causing dirty notes), notes could be bended – slightly sharper than the original notes. So, do keep your ears open and listen to your section mates. You should be playing the same notes as them.

4. Can the technique used for playing the middle notes be applied for lower/higher octaves?
No. We need to apply different technique for each and every note.
Harmonica reed for lower octave is the longest – need the greatest air volume to make it vibrate to produce the sound
For middle octave – shouldn’t be a problem for most of the time
For higher octave – the reeds are the shortest – i.e. a small amount of air would cause the vibration. Hence, over blowing/drawing will crack the notes. Playing of higher octave need very good control of your air flow.
That’s why playing of practice pieces and warm-ups using the lower and higher octave are very important. You need to ensure that you are familiar with the difference to play each and every note (from low1 to highhigh1)

5. I can’t hold my breath for too long. Is there any way to train for longer breath?
Practice, practice and practice. Aim to hold a single note for at least 16 seconds.

6. For Bass harmonica, what are the differences between single octave and double octave bass?
Double octave basses have double reed, so need more air to play the full notes. They sound thicker and rounder than the single octave basses as well.

7. How should I carry out self-practice at home?
Count the tempo correctly. Practicing difficult parts from slower tempo at first, then slowly increase the tempo until it matches with the band tempo.
You might wanna record down your own practice using recorder then playback for review. Analyse every single detail of your music including the dynamics, articulations, change of breath etc.
Finally, enjoy the music produced by your own instrument!

8. Is it okay for me to use my tongue to guide my mouth in order to find the correct hole to blow/draw?
It is a common practice to use the tongue as a guide. Nothing wrong with it but sometimes it might slow you down for running notes. Some reported that they injured their tongue as well.
A better proposition would be practicing more with your harmonica to familiarize yourself with the position of different holes. Then you will be able to estimate the distance between the holes better.

9. Is it okay for me to tap my foot in order to follow the conductor’s tempo?
It is a very bad habit to tap your foot as it could be very unsightly especially when we are on stage. Try counting the beats by heart or if you really need to tap, use your toes! Do make sure that you are tapping the same tempo as the conductor’s baton though.

http://www.angelfire.com/music/HarpOn/
- for more info on playing chromatic harmonica – some of the techniques can be applied for octave harmonica as well