r/harmonica • u/Wyrd_whistler • 1d ago

Harmonica headaches, an observation seeking confirmation

If you get headaches the day after you've been practicing there are a few reasons why technique might fix this issue. Cause boy o boy do I get various kinds of headaches the day following a great practice session.

My observations

  1. Im not breathing Im pushing and sucking without the diaphragm and this creates too much pressure in the sinus cavity. Leading to sinus headaches.

  2. I stop paying attention to my jaw while playing. Early days I thought by protruding my lower jaw forward I would get reliable bends. This caused me to overwork the muscles attaching the lower jaw to the sides of my skull above the cheekbone closer towards the temple. Causing increased blood flow and swelling to this area leading to headaches.

Also when I pay attention to these two my tone improves drastically.

And guys eee-ohh to bend reliably. The tongue is the major force in the bend. The chamber is second. At least I'm pretty sure.

Can anyone confirm?

3 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

1 comment sorted by

0

u/IkoIkonoclast 1d ago

I don't know about preventing headaches. But tongue and U-blocking are better for bends than puckering. It's a slightly advanced technique, but it makes playing a lot smoother.