Playing single notes and articulation
Basic question...
LOA 1 - Getting started - Blues harmonica Fundamentals,.....
In this lesson you advised to play other single notes using the tongue blockong method.
Sooo, If I had been playing with the song ' Oh Susanna'....instead of puckering this tune...
I should tongue block it instead ? You mean...having the mouth open for 4 holes,
and blocking the 3 holes to the left (lower notes) and then moving about hte harp to
play that song ? ( I know you do not mention that song...but the impression I got was
that I should tongue blocking everything ? If not...how do I know when to tongue
block and when to pucker ?
Therefore in the 'Tremolo ' lesson that is next....I should be tongue blockng ?
Sorry for the confusion...just want avoid any 'training scars' and get off to a solid base.
Thank you for your time
Steve
When your tongue blocking...are you articulating the note you playing by placing the rest of your tongue over that hole ? or just using you breath to sound that note ?
Regrding the technique:
"Play holes 2 through 10 with your tongue to the left. Playing holes 4 and above, your lips will commonly be over four holes, blocking the three to the left. "...so if I want to play the 5 hole......then my mouth is open around holes..2,3,4,5 - with the tongue actually covering holes 2,3,4 - leaving the 5 hole open?...For playing the 6 hole... mouth open around holes 3,4,5,6 - with the tongue covering holes 3,4,5 - leaving the 6 hole open ?...and so on for holes up to the 10 hole ?
Commonly just the breath, but for draw notes "KA" is common if you do wish to articulate. For blow notes, use a slight cough, the same as what you use for the tremolo.
"..so if I want to play the 5 hole......then my mouth is open around holes..2,3,4,5 - with the tongue actually covering holes 2,3,4 - leaving the 5 hole open?...For playing the 6 hole... mouth open around holes 3,4,5,6 - with the tongue covering holes 3,4,5 - leaving the 6 hole open ?...and so on for holes up to the 10 hole ?" This is correct.
Why do you encourage the tongue block method over the pucker method....pros/cons ?
Thank you for your time
Steve
The simple answer is that tongue blocking (TB) is what the great masters use(d)... Little Walter, Big Walter Horton, John Lee Williamson, Rice Miller, George Smith, James Cotton, etc., and our modern masters like Kim Wilson, William Clarke, Rod Piazza, Mark Hummel, Gary Smith, Rick Estrin, etc., etc. The two main technical reasons is that it gives you more chordal elements, which gives you a bigger sound (slaps, pulls, flutters, octaves, etc.) and more rhythmic drive (pulls = upbeat syncopation). Also, all of the techniques that can be done in a pucker (minus one of the articulations specific to pucker) can be done in a TB, where techniques that are used all the time by harp players, like slaps, pulls, octaves, flutters, etc. cannot be done in a pucker.
I can isolate on blow and draw pretty well and tremolo blow but when articulating the Ka after the tremolo blow the note above what I was isolating keeps bleeding in and I'm getting 2 notes. Any tips?
Hello Adam.
When blowing, our lips want to blow apart (making the embouchure wider). When drawing, they want to suck in (making the embouchure more narrow).
The fact that your mouth is opening to the right when you draw, indicates to me that you're most likely engaging some muscles that you're not aware of.
Maybe the smiling muscles as you do that K, or less likely, your jaw is moving to the right on that K.
I recommend that you look into a mirror as you do this to see some clues as to what's going on.
P.S., if it's actually the inside note (the hole to the left of the right side of your embouchure) that's sounding when you perform the K, you're simply drawing your tongue back slightly when moving your tongue up for that K. I'm actually leaning more towards this as to what's happening.
Yes you're on the money! It's the inside note that's occurring when articulating K due to moving my tongue back. Any tips on how not to do that?
Also I notice that I seem to angle the harp sideways a bit when TB which helps me isolate notes. Is this something I should work hard to avoid and try to keep it straight? Similarly when going from a 2 blow to 3 blow and back or even raking 3 consecutive notes I find by angling(pushing the rt side of the harp in towards my cheek)it seems as easy,certainly faster if the need arises, as sliding the harmonica and less movement. I have a feeling while it sounds fine that it's a bad habit or incorrect but easier because I'm still learning. TB much more difficult knowing where I am on the comb spatially as opposed to puckering which I've been doung past 8 months but I'm guessing that will come over time.
"Yes you're on the money! It's the inside note that's occurring when articulating K due to moving my tongue back. Any tips on how not to do that?"
Okay, cool. Focus on raising your tongue for the articulation, not moving the tongue back.
"Also I notice that I seem to angle the harp sideways a bit when TB which helps me isolate notes. Is this something I should work hard to avoid and try to keep it straight?"
No, that's fine, I do the same.
"Similarly when going from a 2 blow to 3 blow and back or even raking 3 consecutive notes I find by angling(pushing the rt side of the harp in towards my cheek)it seems as easy,certainly faster if the need arises, as sliding the harmonica and less movement. I have a feeling while it sounds fine that it's a bad habit or incorrect but easier because I'm still learning. TB much more difficult knowing where I am on the comb spatially as opposed to puckering which I've been doung past 8 months but I'm guessing that will come over time."
I would focus more on sliding the harp, and less leaning the harp more to your cheek as you move. The cheek thing is more for better cupping (using your cheek to cover the leakage out of the upper holes, especially for performing Wa Wa's and playing amplified). So, make that more of a cupping thing and less of a movement thing, if that makes sense.
Good morning Steve. No problem, feel free to ask questions as you need anything clarified, that's what I'm here for. Yes, I recommend you tongue block everything, in the manner that you mentioned. For hole 1 you'll move your tongue to the right, blocking commonly holes 2 and 3 (so your lips are commonly over three holes... sometimes four if you're doing a lick that goes from 4 draw to 1 draw and back to 4 draw for example, which is very common in Bars 9 and 10 in the 12 Bar Blues... so it is context-driven... you'll learn this in your upcoming lessons). Play holes 2 through 10 with your tongue to the left. Playing holes 4 and above, your lips will commonly be over four holes, blocking the three to the left. When playing hole 3, you're blocking holes 2, 1 and a little bit of the comb to the left. Playing hole 2 your tongue will cover hole 1 and a the comb to the left.