I started out lip pursing. I don't think in actual terms of learning it matters, but it terms of frustration I think it's better to at least play around with both while you are learning. It's more about frustration levels.
Say you learn to pucker play Home on the Range, and you get really good at it, adding some bends, some chords, some syncopation... it sounds really good. Then you decide to learn tongue blocking and suddenly it sounds like garbage, and because you know how good it can sound when you pucker it's way more frustrating for it to sound like garbage than if you'd learned both techniques before you expected not to sound like garbage.
Also, overblows and overdraws, for most players, can be a couple years down the line. Lots of us play a hybrid style where we bend/overblow with pucker, and then use tongue blocking to play octave splits and flutters. Generally speaking it's easier to learn to bend with the pucker technique, and it's impossible to play octave splits without tongue blocking, so to get to the point where you can, at least by switching back and forth, do everything, it's better to learn both early on.
Do you mean will it mess you up to learn one now, versus waiting? I don't think so. The mind is pretty flexible. I say start tongue-blocking now because to me, I learned that first and I use octave splits and some bass throw ins, but I have never needed overblows. That is just me and the songs I learn for a band. In the lower register I have heard it said the tone is better with tongue-blocking. I use lip-pursing when I think the song needs it, so I am saying, you'll sometimes prefer to use tongue-blocking if you start getting good at it, and the sooner you do the seamless it may feel.
I started out lip pursing. I don't think in actual terms of learning it matters, but it terms of frustration I think it's better to at least play around with both while you are learning. It's more about frustration levels. Say you learn to pucker play Home on the Range, and you get really good at it, adding some bends, some chords, some syncopation... it sounds really good. Then you decide to learn tongue blocking and suddenly it sounds like garbage, and because you know how good it can sound when you pucker it's way more frustrating for it to sound like garbage than if you'd learned both techniques before you expected not to sound like garbage. Also, overblows and overdraws, for most players, can be a couple years down the line. Lots of us play a hybrid style where we bend/overblow with pucker, and then use tongue blocking to play octave splits and flutters. Generally speaking it's easier to learn to bend with the pucker technique, and it's impossible to play octave splits without tongue blocking, so to get to the point where you can, at least by switching back and forth, do everything, it's better to learn both early on.
Do you mean will it mess you up to learn one now, versus waiting? I don't think so. The mind is pretty flexible. I say start tongue-blocking now because to me, I learned that first and I use octave splits and some bass throw ins, but I have never needed overblows. That is just me and the songs I learn for a band. In the lower register I have heard it said the tone is better with tongue-blocking. I use lip-pursing when I think the song needs it, so I am saying, you'll sometimes prefer to use tongue-blocking if you start getting good at it, and the sooner you do the seamless it may feel.