Re: [Harp-L] a question for all you toungue blockers out there...

["Tim Moyer" <wmharps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

camposs wrote:
> do most toungue blockers switch to a pucker for the 3 draw bend 
> and the 4 draw bend. 

I spent three hours in Joe Filisko's Tongue Blocking 2 class at the 
Harmonica Masterclass this past weekend, and -- needless to say -- I 
got some invaluable advice from one of the best.  Joe tongue blocks 
just about everything, including blow bends and overbends, and has a 
fluidity that few can match.  He offered a couple of pieces of 
advice for transitioning from puckering to tongue blocking that I 
found useful.  

First, don't worry about bending fluently at first.  You can't 
tongue block fluently with bends if you can't tongue block fluently 
without them.  Second, to simulate the mouth positions for a tongue 
blocked bend try this without a harp: open your mouth as if to 
whistle, then put the tip of your tongue between your lips to 
simulate a tongue block.  Then focus on making the pitch of your 
whistle go down without moving your tongue.  The actions of the back 
of your tongue will be very similar to what you need to do for a 
tongue blocked bend.  

-tim