[Harp-L] u-blocker???

["James D Hoskins" <jameshoskinz@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

 I had a couple of off line emails with Winslow yesterday. I told him I wasn't certain where I had heard LW had used the tongue rolling technique, but that in the back of my mind I kept thinking either a Louis Meyers or Joe Lee Bush interview.

Winslow came back with a quote that was at least one thing I recall reading:

Joe Lee Bush on Little Walter:

 
  He had an interest in how I was playing. In addition to the usual tongue blocking, 
I also curled my tongue inside the mouth to get an air channel directly into the holes, making for a much more powerful attack. He was doing the same thing and asked me "did you 
work that out yourself" and I said "yes, I was so little when I started 
playing that my tongue was too small to do the usual tongue blocking" and he 
said he did the same thing too. After 1955, I never saw Little Walter 
again."
  

Winslow pointed out that this could be interpreted more than one way so:

I emailed Joe Lee yesterday, so far no word back. He may very well not respond. He may even view it as a silly question, I confess, I pretty much do. To me what he says seems clear. I can't imagine rolling my own tongue and holding it far enough back in my mouth to keep it off the harmonica. It's very uncomfortable.

I don't think of "U-blocking" as a primary technique, it's just another 
facet of tongue blocking. single note on left, single note in the middle, 
single note on right.

I don't see what the big deal is either way. I had always thought many 
players do it. At least several I've known, and known of, have used the technique.
I actually remember hearing a friend comment once that they gave up trying to play harmonica because they couldn't roll their tongue.