Re: [Harp-L] Bending while tongue blocking?

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Learn to bend with a tongue block.

People who tell you to switch are people who can't do it.

But you can if you work at it. So can many other players.

You may have learned to bend by humping up your tongue to create an activation 
point, then sliding this forward or back in your mouth to create a larger or 
smaller resonant chamber to target lower or higher notes.

Tongue blocked bending can be accomplished in the same way. 

The main difference is that you can't move the tip of the tongue, because it's 
touching the harmonica. But you don't need the tip of your tongue to bend. And 
pointing the airflow up and down has absolutely no effect on bending. It's just 
a byproduct.

You can change the size of the resonant chamber in two ways:
-- horizontally
-- vertically

Your ability to move horizontally (forward and back) is constrained by the 
position of the tip of your tongue, though you can still do it some.

However, you can drop the height of your tongue, and drop your jaw, to create a 
larger or smaller space between your tongue and the roof of your mouth.

Try this:

Play Draw 4 with  tongue block. Then, with the harp in your mouth and your 
tongue on the harp, say "Guh." The place where you touch your tongue to the roof 
of your mouth is also the place where you'll activate the bend by narrowing the 
airflow. Try using this to bend Draw 4 down.

Once you can bend Draw 4, try Draw 3. Much tougher at first. This is where you 
need to experiment with your ability to move the K-spot and with dropping your 
tongue/jaw.

Winslow
 Winslow Yerxa
Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
Harmonica instructor, The Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance
Resident expert, bluesharmonica.com
Columnist, harmonicasessions.com




________________________________
From: Ryan Matzen <mississippi.sax@xxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tue, February 1, 2011 6:48:55 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] Bending while tongue blocking?

Hello,
Lately I've been working on getting my tongue blocking down.  I've been
doing pretty good.  I've even been tongue switching to be able to t-block
the 1st hole.  Now I am trying to bend while t-blocking and have been having
a real hard time.  I was told to switch back to a pucker to do bends, but it
seems like a hassle to be switching embouchers all the time?  Do most people
switch to do bends?  If not, does anyone have any tips they could share on
bending while using a t-block embouchure?

Thanks!