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

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Roger -

The obstruction - the narrowing of the air passage - is what sets up the 
resonant chamber. It's what I call the activator. 

As you noted, you can bend by partially obstructing the hole - with only the 
activator. This is how accordionists bend notes, at the point where the key 
lifts a pallet to allow air into the accordion.But these bent accordion notes 
always sound like the note is sickly in tone and poorly controlled in comparison 
with a good harmonica bend. You can have far more control, precision, and tonal 
fullness by moving the activator back so that you also have a tuned resonant 
chamber.

The pressure or suction that you feel at the activation point is not the cause 
of the bend. That's just a byproduct of the change in air speed that occurs 
through the narrowed passage. Increasing the pressure beyond a certain point 
will not make the bend any more effective. However, the pressure or suction is a 
useful gauge that tells you whether or not the activator is engaged.

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: Roger Myerson <myerson@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wed, February 2, 2011 4:15:34 PM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Bending while tongue blocking?

Dear Winslow:
Thanks so much for this excellent advice!  I am amazed to find that I can 
actually do it as you advise.
As a habitual tongue-blocker, for decades I felt unable to bend at all.  I only 
just learned to bend a few months ago, ironically after switching to the Newton 
fourkey tuning.

The bending technique that has worked for me is to tilt the tip of the tongue 
upward until it partly obstructs the bottom of the hole, and draw a bit harder 
through this narrowed entrance.  Perhaps this is considered bad form, making an 
inferior sound, but with some practice and care I have found that I can make it 
sound not so bad with this technique.

Bending still is a deep mystery to me.  In my limited experience, it seems to be 
not so much about making a resonant cavity as about making a narrow obstruction 
through which the air can be drawn under more pressure than usual.  It feels 
like your K-spot technique works by creating such an obstruction farther back in 
the mouth.
But on the Newton fourkey, I only have nothing like the Richter hole 3 to 
manipulate, as there is only one simple bend-note (at most) to aim for in any 
hole.
-Roger

> Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2011 09:13:09 -0800 (PST)
> From: Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Bending while tongue blocking?
> To: harp-l <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Message-ID: <620329.48188.qm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> 
> 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

-- Roger B. Myerson, Glen A. Lloyd Distinguished Service Professor
Department of Economics, University of Chicago
1126 East 59th Street, Chicago, IL 60637
Phone: 773-834-9071, Fax: 773-702-8490
http://home.uchicago.edu/~rmyerson/