寻求更好的音色

　　the quest for tone

　　（translate by napier@bdwm.net = 大狐狸@sina.com，原文来自网络：www.harmonicasessions.com，原作david barrett，文章内容版权属于原作者）

　　the quest for good tone is always on the mind of the conscientious harmonica player. achieving a good acoustic (non amplified) tone is difficult enough, but to add into the mix how a mic and amplifier work with it adds to the complexity. most players understand that good tone comes with time, but there are specific areas of focus that we’ll study right now that will take years of this process.

　　每个称职的口琴手都会努力寻求更好的音色。获得优美的原声是一件相当有难度的事情，而mic和功放使得这件事更加复杂。许多演奏者都明白优美的音色需要长期的摸索。我们现在就来讨论一些特别需要注意的事项——这些可能需要数年的练习。

　　embouchure

　　the first place to start is with your embouchure. embouchure for the harmonica player encompasses the throat, jaw, tongue and lips; all of which affect tone. the easiest way to explain what is considered a good embouchure is to yawn. the throat opens, the jaw drops and the tongue lowers to the floor of the mouth. the result is a large airway for warm air to travel in and out of the harmonica.

　　含琴

　　第一件事情是含琴法。对一个口琴手来说，含琴法包括喉咙、下颌、舌头和嘴唇的动作；所有这些都会影响到发音。对正确的动作最简单的解释就是打哈欠：喉咙打开，下颌张开并且舌头放在口腔的最底部。这样就能给气流提供宽敞通畅的管道。

　　pictured below are some side shots of well-know players performing at a harmonica masterclass workshop® (photos by mark fenichel). notice how low each player’s jaw is dropped to achieve good tone.

　　the tongue

　　placement of the tongue is a very important factor. most people, even when they think the tongue is down, unknowingly hump the middle to back of their tongue up. if the tongue impedes the airway, it will cause your tone to be weak, flat and/or airy. start by looking in the mirror and yawning. notice the placement of your tongue. is it humped up in the back? if it is in the correct location, it should be sitting on the floor of the mouth, with the top of the tongue pretty much level with the top of your lower teeth. as time goes on you can have your tongue rest higher in the mouth, but until you are able to control the placement of your tongue (this will happen naturally over time) it’s best to just leave it out of the way.

　　舌头

　　舌头的位置是一个很重要的因素。大部分人在自己觉得舌头已经放平的时候，实际上并没有做到这一点。他们的舌头中后部是抬起的。如果舌头阻碍了气流，会使琴声显得软弱和空洞。现在照着镜子打个哈欠，注意你舌头的位置：舌根部是不是抬起了？舌头处于正确位置时，应该放平在口琴底部，整个舌头差不多和你的下牙相平。一段时间以后你可以把舌头放得稍高一些，在你能够控制舌头的动作以后，最好的办法是放松它。

　　the lips

　　many blues players (including myself) use what’s called the tilted embouchure. by tilting the face of the harmonica downward (up to forty-five degrees) the single hole is created from the curvature of the lower lip. this frees the upper lip to ride up on the top cover plate as high as the player wants. when tongue blocking, this embouchure is also desirable because the tilt of the harmonica allows you to use the broad top of the tongue instead of the tip. this makes general tongue blocking techniques like pulls and five-hole octaves much easier to achieve and in general sound better due to achieving more even coverage over the holes.

　　嘴唇

　　许多布鲁斯琴手（包括我）选用所谓的倾斜式含琴法。也就是把口琴的前面向下倾斜大约45度。吹奏单音的口型由下嘴唇的曲线自然形成。这种方法解放了上嘴唇使它可以放在上盖板的任何位置。在使用舌堵法时这种含琴法也很有用，因为口琴的倾斜使你可以使用舌头平坦的上部代替舌尖。这使得一些舌堵孔技术比如pulls（后加伴奏？）和五孔八度和声奏法更加容易。同时由于舌头的覆盖更加均匀，音色也会有所改善。

　　all of this is what i call natural tone. your goal is to create a warm, round sound from every note that you play. if you hear that a note sounds flat in pitch, your tongue is in the way. experiment with tongue placement to raise the pitch of the note. if you hear that a note sounds airy, your tongue is in the way. experiment with tongue placement to get rid of as much airiness as possible. if you hear that your tone is thin and lacks fullness, follow all of the directions above to open your embouchure to achieve good tone.

　　以上所述就是我所谓的自然音色。你的目标是把每一个音吹得温暖圆润。如果发音偏低，那就是你的舌头挡路了，试着改变舌头的位置把音调提高；如果琴声虚弱空洞，那也是你的舌头挡路了，试着改变舌头的位置尽量避免这个毛病；如果琴声单薄，不够丰满，就试着按照上面的要求去做直到找到好音色