Re: [Harp-L] The difference between Gwen Foster's Tongue Switch and a regular tongue switch

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

I've been doing this switch since I was a teenager. Little Walter used it on "Oh Baby (You're going to Miss Me When I'm Gone)" and the alternate take titled "I  Love You So."  Dennis Gruenling does one of these tunes and, I believe, uses the technique as well. You can hear it on my recording of "Windermere" starting at 3:49
http://winslowyerxa.com/northsamples/Windermere_inF.mp3


The specific switch we're talking about here is one where you have three holes in your mouth and keep the middle hole blocked while you alternate between the left and right holes.

Because of the small size of the mouth opening, pointing the tongue upwards instead of straight forward or down seems to be the best way of blocking such a narrow spread.

I (and Little Walter) also use a wider version of this right-left alternation that spreads across four or five holes. For this version you can poit your tongue forward or down. I've been calling this technique a shimmer in writing about it over the last 20 years, and I notice that others have picked up on this term as well.

Foster's use of the three-hole shimmer has a very aggressive rhythmic texture, while Walter's was more smooth sounding.

Winslow

 
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________________________________
 From: michael rubin <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Peter Madcat Ruth <madcat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
Cc: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx; Daniel McKernan <danm11758@xxxxxxxxx> 
Sent: Thursday, May 3, 2012 5:32 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] The difference between Gwen Foster's Tongue Switch and a regular tongue switch
 
I believe tongue switching is one of the things Madcat does very well.
However, I believe Gwen Foster's technique is not the same method of
tongue switching, which is why it sounds so different.

To me it has no official name. Perhaps we should call it the Foster
switch.  I have only met two people who can do it, Filisko and James
Conway.  Both say the same thing.  Put your tip of your tongue on the
top cover plate just above the holes and apply light pressure.  When
the perfect pressure is achieved the middle of your tongue will spasm
left and right rapidly, producing the sound.
I have never once even gotten close.  Anyone want to add any more advice?

A regular tongue switch is wagging the tongue left and right while on
the harp rapidly alternating between a low and high note.  I believe
speed is genetic.  I have practiced for many hours and gotten my
switch to a low level
 pro sound.  When first talking about tongue
blocking (my second or third lesson although I have my students pucker
for a while) I always test my students as to whether or not they have
a fast switch.  Some are terribly slow, others blindingly fast.  When
I asked Madcat how many hours it took to develop his speed, he did not
understand the question because he could do it the first time.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com

On Thu, May 3, 2012 at 6:26 AM, Peter Madcat Ruth
<madcat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I call this a tongue trill and I use the technique often.
>
> Peter Madcat Ruth
> Musician - Grammy Award Winner
>     madcat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>     home phone: 734-761-8518
>     mobile phone: 734-678-7047
> www.madcatmusic.net
> www.youtube.com/user/petermadcatruth
>
> On May 3, 2012, at 12:58 AM, Daniel McKernan wrote:
>
>> I noticed
>> that when I move my tongue rapidly side to side over 2 holes (at 1:50 and
>> 2:00) it kind of sounds like piano keys.  I think it sounds kind of neat
>> and was wondering if others use this technique much?
>>
>> http://youtu.be/JgLuZO0uMDA
>>
>> Daniel McKernan
>