tongue blocking question
Fri, 09/01/2017 - 10:46
for the time I've been here, (25 weeks) you'd think I'd be beyond such questions as the forthcoming one.
tongue blocking didn't seem hard to pick up and hit single notes cleanly with fair consistency but almost every time I reach the high octave parts of "walk with me" and then head back down to the 4 or 6 draw holes they'll be blocked or clogged just enough with spit to destroy the note and ruin the song.
after fighting the urge not to throw my special 20 in pure frustration, I tap it out, clear it out and start over.
what am I missing? I've tried keeping tongue farther left and seems to help some but tounge has tendency to drift back nearer center
is this a common issue?
Monty Wheeler
I wouldn't try to press your tongue in any particular direction. Angling it can make some tongue blocking techniques harder than they need to be. Relaxation is a good general principle.
Your saliva glands will get more active when you are in an unfamiliar oral situation, like having a foreign object in your mouth or making your tongue do something new and unfamiliar. They may quiet down after awhile.
Meanwhile, you might examine the angle of your head when you play. Are you inclining it downward? If so, that would let saliva slide downhill into the harmonica. Keeping your head level might help. You could additionally angle the back of the harmonica (the part facing away from you; to me the holes are the front) upward.
Also, if you go up and play the high holes, your tongue should be blocking all the holes to the left that are in your mouth, and the left edge of your tongue should be touching the inside of your left cheek. And it's worth mentioning that light contact suffices, pressure is not needed.
In this situation, saliva can't get at the holes to the left as thy're blocked - unless you're using techniques where you lift your tongue off the harp while playing those high notes. In that case, apply the previous paragraph, but also check to make sure the tip of your tongue isn't reaching back and dipping in the well of saliva. It should only retract a few millimeters, enough to let air flow freely into the harp.