Re: [Harp-L] middle of tongue wag - rake and shimmer techniques

["Rick Dempster" <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Michael;
              I use this technique quite a bit (I mean a fast tremolo
blocking 1,2, 3 or more notes in between) I started doing it after being
inspired by Gwen Foster's recordings.
             One of the excercises I used (and still occasionally use
it as a piece of 'showboating') is a lick I learned from a piano player,
who in turn learned it off the piano of Jerry Lee lewis (boy! this is a
pretty odd influence for harmonica!)
             Jerry does this left-hand boogie bass (Fats Domino uses it
too; check out his version of 'Swanee Rive'r, which in turn came from an
earlier player...Ammons? Archibald? I forget)
            It goes (key of G) G D G E repeating (rhythm is '& 1& 2 & 3
& 4') then to the IV chord: C G C A etc
            You can do it on the harp thus:  
            6B  8D  6B  8B then : 7B  9B  7B  10D- the V chord requires
a bend on hole ten; I haven't really bothered with it.
            On the octave below it's:
            3B  4D   3B   5B (I Chord) then (IV chord)4B  6B   4B  6D
then (for V chord)  4D  6D  4D  7D
             You can play it as eighth note triplets for a
time-shifting effect, rather than just a boogie bass line thing.
             Sorry if this isn't very clear, but I think it was really
good practice for me in this technique.
             I find that I am using ther UNDERSIDE OF THE TONGUE (not
yelling here; just v. important) and tongues contact with the harmonica
is not as important as one at first thinks; it is more a case of the
tongue's being to the mouth-aperture what the slide is to then
chromatic; you are blocking the mouth as much as the harmonica.
             Also, yes, the middle and back of the tongue drive the
action, but the front (note I do not say 'tip' as it is  more like an
expanse of 'edge')
of the tongue does not always stay immobile; it just doesn't move as
much as the middle/back.
             This means that you can be accurate with the front of the
tongue; it doesn't need to move much and can use the instrument as an
'anchor' point.
             It's a bit like massaging a sore spot on the body by
pressing the spot with the point of a finger, then waggling the
forearm.
             In closing I might just add that I have been through this
before in reply to an 'offlist' inquiry regarding my attempt at Gwen
Foster's 'Black Pine Waltz' (posted on
http://www.buddhasgarden.net/index.php?topic=859.0) and would just
like to echo another poster's sentiments regarding making posting to
harp-l the rule rather than the exception. 
            Unless I'm discussing something that would be better not
posted on-list, it's best to keep the king of discussions/info like the
above, public, in the spirit of sharing which harp-l has always been an
examplar.

Rick Dempster
Melbourne,
Australia


>>> Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx> 26/08/2007 13:00 >>>
Michael - 

I can't tell for sure whether or not you're talking about rapidly
alternating between a note on the right side of the tongue and a note
on the left side, with the hole(s) in between blocked out (I use the
term "shimmer" for this).

If that's what you're talking about, then there's an easier technique
that may help you build coordination toward the shimmer.

One good thing about the shimmer is that it allows you to isolate a
pair of notes far apart without including the notes in between. Maybe
the two notes fit a particular chord while the in-between notes do
not.
Or maybe it's just the particular "rry" texture of alternating two
distinct note that you're after.

The easier technique is one I call a "rake." To do the rake, get three
or four holes in your mouth. You apply the tip of the tongue to the
harp, but you don't try to root it down in one spot. Instead, you let
it glide, or rake, from side to side. When your tongue is on the right
side, one or more holes on the left are exposed. When your tongue is
on
the left side, one or more holes on the right are exposed.

The rake is a "wetter" technique than the shimmer, because by default
it exposes two holes at a time and includes all the notes in your
mouth
if your mouth is covering three or four holes. 

However, it is possible to get a clean shimmer with a rake when
covering three holes. Here's how.

Cover three holes with your mouth and two with your tongue. When the
tongue is to the left, one hole is exposed on the right. Move your
tongue to the right, and it uncovers one hole on the left.

Now, if I go to a shimmer covering a total of four holes, I can do it
one of two ways.

The first way would be to just use the rake technique but widen the
tip
of the tongue to block three holes instead of one and rake this back
and forth, alternating between the leftmost and rightmost hole.

However, I find it a little easier to get a clean, assured alternation
and to save motion by rooting the tongue in the two middle holes and
just sort of bulging it outward to the right or left to isolate one
hole or the other.

Here's an exercise that may or may not help.

Play an octave i Holes 1 and 4, blocking out Holes two and three. The
tip of your tongue is rooted to those middle holes.

Now, let Hole 4 keeps sounding and shut of Hole 1. Don't move your
face
or your lips. Don't move the tip of your tongue off Holes 2 and 3.
Just
let your tongue bulge a little to the left. Concentrate on just doing
this motion. You'll be alternating between playing an octave and an
Isolated Hole 4.

Now go back to playing the octave. This time concentrate on letting
Hole 1 keep sounding while you bulge your tongue out to the right to
block out hole 4. Don't move the tip of your tongue off Holes 2 and 3,
and don't budge your lips or your face. Alternate between an octave
and
isolated Hole 1.

Practice these alternations between octave and isolated note on the
left and on the right. Build up a little speed. Then combine right and
left. Do it first deliberately at a slow speed, then see if you can
just turn it on and let it go at an unmeasured speed.

Hope this helps.

Winslow
--- Michael Rubin <rubinmichael@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Both Joe FIlisko and James Conway have shown me this and tried to
> explain it but I am confused.
>   Apparently, you play an octave with the tip of your tongue.  You
> hold the tip steady on the harp.  The middle of your tongue wags
left
> and right and you get a cool flutter.
>    
>   My tongue won't stand still.  I have practiced by putting the tip
> of my tongue on the back of my bottom teeth and wagging the back of
> the tongue left and right, touching the molars with each wag.  Then
I
> try it with the harp and all sorts of  uncoordination occur.  Help?
>    
>   This is not a tongue switch, I can do that.
>    
>   Michael Rubin
>   Michaelrubinharmonica.com 
> _______________________________________________
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