[Harp-L] Tongue blocking

[todd allen]

Tongue blocking question.
If someone says they use the “tongue block” method, does this mean they do it on
all holes and in any “physical” position of the harp. It doesn’t seem very
natural to me when tongue blocking to breath from the left side of my mouth or
to bend anything anywhere with my tongue in the way. I started playing like many
other’s, I imagine, with the pucker method. I continue to use it 90% of the time
on the lower and middle holes but as soon as I get passed the 6 or 7 hole I use
tongue blocking seems like it’s the only way I can get it to sound full at the
higher end of the harp.
 
Todd

[michael rubin]

It is certainly possible to do any and all techniques tongue blocked.
It seems many people use it for some of their playing and puckering
and/or U blocking for other elements. I suggest learning how to
tongue block bend at least on holes 1 thru 6. Close your jaw and push
your tongue harder against the harp.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com

On Tue, Sep 7, 2010 at 3:01 PM, todd allen <soundguy...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Tongue blocking question.

> If someone says they use the �tongue block� method, does this mean they do it on
> all holes and in any �physical� position of the harp. It doesn�t seem very

> natural to me when tongue blocking to breath from the left side of my mouth or
> to bend anything anywhere with my tongue in the way. I started playing like many

> other�s, I imagine, with the pucker method. I continue to use it 90% of the time

> on the lower and middle holes but as soon as I get passed the 6 or 7 hole I use

> tongue blocking seems like it�s the only way I can get it to sound full at the

[Miguel Angel Alonso Lopez]

Hi, Todd.

I started playing harp by puckering, too, and this was my main technique for
some years. I only tongue blocked to make octaves, or reach quickly the
higher holes on the right.

Simultaneously, I was always wondering whether tongue blocking could widen
horizons in my playing. After talking with some friends, experienced harp
players, I decided to start learning how to bend notes, play some riffs and
effects, etc, by tongue blocking on the lower end. It requires PATIENCE, you
know, but EVENTUALLY you will SUCCEED. The best way is listening carefully
the Walters (Little & Big).

I'm still working on this. I've started to use tongue blocking depending on
the needs of the moment, song, phrase, groove, etc. I find difficult to
tongue block the 1st hole (with the tongue on the right side of the mouth)
so I don't do it in this case. And I use puckering whenever it sounds better
for me in a specific phrase. For example, if I want the phrase to sound very
clean and fast.

I think it's worth trying because you will be able to choose the technique
which fits better in each situation.

Another good debate is what great harp players do on the lower end. For
example: does Jerry Portnoy or Kim Wilson usually tongue block the 1st, 2nd
and 3rd holes?

In my opinion, the amaziest tongue blocker is Greg Zlap. It's hard to
believe how smooth, dirty, sweet, or ultra-fast he can be. He bends or
overblows so easily... He can play jazz or blues or whatever. And he only
uses tongue blocking!!

I think some other comments will bring more light to this subject.

Cheers,

M.A.

[Winslow Yerxa]

There are a lot of possible ways to use your tongue on the harp, but some will cause you problems. Two that have already been recommended I would warn against:
1. Do not press your tongue hard against the harp. This is a poor substitute for bending technique and will lead to both bad tone and poor control. Bending is done inside the mouth and not at the entry point into the harp. Also, pressing hard will cause friction that will slow you down and can also cause abrasion of the tongue. It can also promote tension, which is never good.
2. Do not use the side edge of your tongue to block. True, you can get a single note this way. However, every student I have encountered who does this has trouble learning the most fundamental tongue techniques, such as bending, playing split intervals, and using the tongue to create textures such as rakes and hammers.
Tongue blocking needs to be relaxed, as with just about everything you do while playing. It needs to:
- allow the harp to glide smoothly in your mouth without pressure or friction
- to block a varying number of holes at will, and to  play out of both left and right sides of the mouth, either together or in alternation
- to allow the tongue to move on and off the harp at will and rapidly to alternate between chords and single notes and to create various textures and note combinations (to get an idea of the amazing variety of possibilities, check out the lengthy series on advanced tongue blocking techniques I did in the harmonicaessions.com webzine a couple of years ago).
- to bend notes utilizing the areas of the tongue not contacting the harmonica.
The best ways to deploy the tongue on the harmonica are:
- Keeping the tongue pointed forward, not off to one side.
- Using the top or bottom surface of the tongue, not the tip or the side edge. This gives you a broad surface that can block several holes. Using the underside of he tongue allows you to block only one hole while having both sides open (the Gwen Foster technique, as already noted).
I use the bottom surface of the tongue only in the special circumstance mentioned above. Most of the time I do this:
- Rest the tip of my tongue on the ridge of my lower teeth and/or the inside of my lower lip.
- Bulge the top surface of the tongue forward to block the holes I want to block, leaving an opening for air to pass either in the right or left corner of my mouth. 
- If I'm playing out of he right side of my mouth, the left edge of my tongue is sealed gently against the inside of my left cheek. If I'm playing out of the left side, then the right edge is gently sealed again the inside of the right cheek.
As always, everything is RELAXED - jaw, tongue, lips, throat. No pressure, no tension, no friction.
Winslow
Winslow Yerxa
Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
Harmonica instructor, The Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance
Resident expert, bluesharmonica.com
Columnist, harmonicasessions.com

[Doug H]

This discussion of tongue blocking has been very informative. As a puckerer, I can see that I have a lot to learn.

Doug H

[todd allen]

As I  began reading through the responses to my question, I had the immediate
impulse to respond to them with more questions, within two days they have been
answered. I know that T/B will be a definite benefit but the had misinterpreted
it as being something I “HAD” to learn and “Master” if I want to call myself a
harmonica player. What a stress relief it is knowing that it is only a fraction
of the instrument and being able to practice and learn T/B without the pressure
and frustration has all ready had a instant effect.
 
Once again I feel as though I should be sending a lesson fee to Harp-L, I can’t
imagine trying to learn any instrument without such a intuitive resource as this
discussion group. The shear fact that a person with such little “physical” (I
have yet to find any in or around the NH Sea Coast area) access to teachers or
seminars is priceless.

 
Thanks
Todd

[michael rubin]

Winslow says:
1. Do not press your tongue hard against the harp. This is a poor
substitute for bending technique and will lead to both bad tone and
poor control. Bending is done inside the mouth and not at the entry
point into the harp. Also, pressing hard will cause friction that will
slow you down and can also cause abrasion of the tongue. It can also
promote tension, which is never good.

I disagree, I have been pushing my tongue harder against the harp to
help bend tongue blocked notes forever, I like my tongue blocked tone
as well as my single note tone and have as much control with it.
Perhaps my "push harder" is actually a very subtle push harder and
Winslow is warning against real hard pushing.

I also think a little tension is healthy in a marriage.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com

[Michelle LeFree]

Much has already been said so I'll only say this about tongue
blocking: it's FUN!

After two years of dogged persistence (and several more of casual
effort), my tongue blocking is finally coming together. There was
painfully little progress for the first year and it was very tempting to
just give up -- but I knew it ~could~ be done so I stuck with it. I was
well into the 2nd year of my steep learning curve before I began to show
consistent progress on "real tongue blocking." I say "real" TBing
because I have been able to play octaves and seamlessly switch back and
forth between TB and pucker forever. But there are so many other cool
techniques you can do with TB'ing and playing octaves/splits is actually
one of the easiest. If you aren't impressed with the Walters, take a
listen to the venerable Sam Hinton sometime (may he Rest In Peace). You
~will~ be humbled. That's what I call "real" TBing.

These days, things I struggled with for so long to get any sort of
success now just seem to be magically "working." Bending with different
keys, slaps, pulls, various styles of tremolo, bluesy vibrato, even
switching are now coming with relative ease. And it is all a GAS! There
are so many more interesting things you can do when you play more than a
single note at a time, I'm now having a ball exploring and learning
them. And it's added so much more texture and depth to my playing that I
find it more enjoyable and so do people who have enough patience to
listen to me.

So if you have been working hard with little in the way of results to
show for it, stick with it! There is definitely "gold in them thar
hills" and it ~is~ accessible by mere mortals. Heck, even an "Harmonica
Dummy" like me can do it (now anyway).

Michelle

[joe leone]

One tip: Don't use too much pressure tongue blocking. You could raise
a small chip (or chips) on your tongue called taste buds. They sting.

On Sep 9, 2010, at 9:12 AM, todd allen wrote:

> As I began reading through the responses to my question, I had the
> immediate
> impulse to respond to them with more questions, within two days
> they have been
> answered. I know that T/B will be a definite benefit but the had
> misinterpreted

> it as being something I �HAD� to learn and �Master� if I want to

> call myself a
> harmonica player. What a stress relief it is knowing that it is
> only a fraction
> of the instrument and being able to practice and learn T/B without
> the pressure
> and frustration has all ready had a instant effect.
>
> Once again I feel as though I should be sending a lesson fee to

> Harp-L, I can�t

> imagine trying to learn any instrument without such a intuitive
> resource as this
> discussion group. The shear fact that a person with such little

> �physical� (I