Tongue-switching from Left to Right

Hi, Dutch.

Corner switching is a powerful technique. Classical players use it all the time, but Little Walter also used it from time to time.

If you tongue block for single notes out of the right corner of your mouth, you develop good control over isolating a single hole or a pair of holes.

But then if you switch to the left side without developing your single-note skills on that side, of course you're likely to feel a bit clumsy and even uncomfortable because you haven't developed the familiarity and skill that you've developed on the right side.

If you can already play splits cleanly, then you're in good shape to play out of the left corner alone -but without the support of also playing out of the right side at the same time. (Splits are when you have several holes in your mouth, and block out the holes in the middle to get a single hole in each corner. This is how you play octaves, for instance.)

So with switching, you have two skills to learn:

1) Playing clean single notes and single-note lines on the left side

2) easily and cleanly switching between right and left corners.

===DEVELOPING LEFT SIDE EMBOUCHURE

For clean single notes out of the left corner, observe the sensations of your tongue, lips, and cheek when you play out of the right corner, and transfer it to the left:

Playing out of the right side:

-- Left edge of tongue contacting left corner of mouth (Corner is where top and bottom lips join) and left cheek and/or side teeth

-- Right edge of tongue *NOT* contacting right corner of mouth, and not touching right cheek or side teeth.

-- Sensation of air moving through right opening, and passing by cheeks and above and below tongue. (This may be easier to feel when you take the harmonica out of your mouth and breath through a tongue blocked embouchure.)

So when you play out of the LEFT side, you transfer those sensations:

-- Right edge of tongue contacting right corner of mouth (corner is where top and bottom lips join) and right cheek and/or side teeth

-- Left edge of tongue *NOT* contacting left corner of mouth, and not touching left cheek or side teeth.

-- Sensation of air moving through left opening, and passing by cheeks and above and below tongue. (This may be easier to feel when you take the harmonica out of your mouth and breath through a tongue blocked embouchure.)

Once you can get a clear single note out of the left corner of your mouth, practice playing scales or licks that you already know. This helps you to

1) Move from hole to hole with your new embouchure, while keeping its shape intact.

2) Gain familiarity with having the note come out of the other side of our head, and getting used to the slight shift in the feeling of whether the note is coming from in relation to the harmonica, your hands, and your head as you move round on the instrument.

Now, when it comes time to switch from right to left, you'll be in familiar territory when you land on the left side, but first you have to get there. So now it's time to talk about making the switch.

===SWITCHING CORNERS

When you switch form the right corner of your mouth to the left, you close off the opening in the right corner and open up the left corner. You accomplish both actions in a single move.

I find that I use two different tongue actions to switch, depending on how many holes are in my mouth.

For smaller spreads (spread is the total number of holes in your mouth), I'll block two holes and shift the tongue from side to side - something like the windshield wiper action you describe, but it's all side to side with no vertical movement.

I also find that for this move I place my tongue differently than my normal default. Here I have to stress that what works for me may not work for you - everyone's physical dimensions and tongue dexterity (some of which is genetic) is different, and you have to experiment to find what works best for you.

For three-hole spreads on diatonic I point the tip of my tongue up and use the underside of the tongue, which for me allows a smaller area of surface contact. On chromatic, I just use the tip of my tongue on the mouthpiece.

For larger spreads, I stick to my default tongue block, in which I tuck the tip of my tongue under the harp, on the lower cover for diatonic or the lower part of the mouthpiece on chromatic, and use the broad, moist top surface of the tongue to block the holes. When I switch corners, I don't glide the tongue from side to side on the mouthpiece. I leave it anchored in place, and just nudge the side edges, assisted by a side-to-side jaw movement. I find that this lets me move faster than moving the entire tongue from side to side.

I hope this helps some, and feel free to ask questions.

You mean you haven't figured out the tongue corkscrew technique where you twist your tongue upside down so that right and left change places?

Seriously, though, thanks for the proofereads (and sorry!). You're right. I was not thorough enough in my my post cut&paste edits (now corrected).