Tip of the week: Paul deLay’s Slide Slither Splits

In recent tips I’ve been focusing on using the slide for melodic ornaments adapted from Stevie Wonder’s playing.

However, Paul deLay had his own way of sneaking the slide into his chromatic playing.

Paul’s slide slither was based on the fact that you can play F two different ways:

-- as a slide-out draw note
-- as a slide-in blow note.

But this wasn’t about single notes. It was about splits, where you get three or more holes in your mouth, then use your tongue to split the chord in half so that you play two notes, one out of each corner of your mouth.

Now, let’s say you get four holes in your mouth, and block out two of them with your tongue.

-- If the note on the right is Draw F, the note on the left will be Draw A
-- If the note on the right is Blow F (slide in) , the note on the left will be Blow Ab.

So your melody note (F) stays the same while the harmonica note goes down from A to Ab. You just hear F and wonder what changed.

If you play those two combinations in sequence, then let the slide out, you get E/G. Move over another hole and draw and you get D/F.

Paul used this sneaky combination fairly often. Listen for it in his playing and try incorporating it into your own.