Re: [Harp-L] New Member Introduction

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

On the tongue blocking thing.

Every good player can tongue block. Some use it exclusively, others only occasionally.

Why do they bother with it?

Tongue blocking gives you capabilities that puckering (using only your lips to isolate a hole) doesn't:

-- The ability to play splits (two notes several holes apart), which include octaves.

-- The ability to create note attacks that add texture and make the harp sound bigger, such as slaps (starting a single note with the tongue off the harp, then slapping it down to arrive at a single note, giving an extremely brief chord at the start of the note)

-- The ability to create chordal textures by rapidly moving your tongue on and off the harp or from side to side.

-- The ability to create rhythms by sounding chords in alternation with single notes, either on releating notes or during a moving melodic line.

I don't know if you're into blues or not, but if you are, most of the blues greats used these tongue blocking techniques extensively.
 
Winslow Yerxa
Author, Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
            Harmonica Basics For Dummies, ASIN B005KIYPFS
            Blues Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-1-1182-5269-7
Resident Harmonica Expert, bluesharmonica.com
Instructor, Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance


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<snip>

- I'm a pucker player right now - not sure tongue-blocking is worth the effort, except' maybe for braggin' rights :-)