David's Tip of the Day: Good Tone - Part 2

Vocalizing "E" as in "Key" without the K... is a good example of where you don't want your tongue for normal play... but where you do want your tongue for bending (this would be equivalent to a 4 draw bend on the C Harmonica for most people). Look in a mirror with good lighting and observe the location of your tongue for this "E" position.

Now go to "AH" and note how the middle of your tongue goes down... this is good for tone. For some people, the "AH" will still have the farthest-back part of the tongue humped up in the back of the mouth... this can cause unwanted bending, stalling and poor tone. If this is the case, yawn and note how that back part of your tongue lowers and your throat opens. This yawn position is as large as the mouth cavity can get (this larger than what we need for everyday play, but actually very good for chording... more on this later).

So, again.... in front of a mirror... "E," and then to "AH," and then to a YAWN, noting the position of your tongue carefully. You may be surprised that you have less control of your tongue than you thought. Visual confirming is very important... I can't adjust you if you don't really know what you're doing with your tongue.

More to come....

I'm off to SPAH (spah,org)... hope to see some of you there.