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For about four years I used the puckertechnique exclusively. Sometimes
I experimented for five minutes or so with the tongueblock technique,
but it felt very weird and it took me half a minuut or so to go from
one clear single note to another. Well: not my cup of tea, was my
conclusion and I went on puckering, thinking everything that can be
done tongueblocking can be done puckering as well. I began to doubt
this assumption after a discussion about this topic on the harp-l
mailing list. Furthermore, I started to realise, that songs I played
sounded different from the original, even if I was certain about
playing the right notes. There was often something in the music I
couln't accomplish. And then I purchased Jerry Portnoy's masterclass.
He convinced me of the fact that the diatonic harmonica, designed as it
is, is basically a chord instrument. To play chords it is necessary to
play more holes then one at a time. Well, of course this can be done
using pucker. Even going from a chord to a single note can be done
using pucker. But in many situations this can easier be accomplished
using the tongue block technique. So I think tongueblocking follows
more naturally from Portnoy's assumption then pucker. More important:
he did what I used to hear in songs I couln't play the way I wanted. So
I became very eager to learn this technique. This is what I learned.
Difficulties
In the beginning it feels weird and a number of difficulties will be
experienced:
It's difficult to blow or draw a single note without lots of
unsuccesfull trials.
Going from one single note to a single note in another hole
is difficult.
Drawing is more difficult then blowing: when drawing a note
my tongue started trembling at the side next to the open
hole, which gave a very weak and trembly
drawnote.
It is impossible to feel how many holes are covered with the
tongue
After a slap the tongue doesn't land at the right spot, so
that more then one note is heard after the slap instead of a
single note.
It is not clear which part of the tongue to use to cover the
holes: the tip, the part above or below the tip or the side of
the tongue.
Another kind of articulation: from the throat or the back of
the mouth is needed.
How to overcome these difficulties?
From my own experience I would say:
First rule: take your time. Accept that you are a beginner (again).
Practice the new technique every day, without trying to incorporate it
in your playing for some time if you are already used to another
technique. I learned a lot from playing easy, wellknown songs. Another very
important thing is, to be as aware as possible of what you do with your
tongue while practicing and of what you feel with it. Be aware of which
part of the tongue is at the mouthpiece, try to feel how many holes are
covered, try to feel the tension or relaxation of the tongue and try to
keep the tongue as relaxed as possible. Feel how deep the harp is in
your mouth and try to be aware of where you are on the harp. Experiment
a lot and listen which option gives the best combination of good tone
and ease of playing. Don't forget that the most comfortable way of
playing in the beginning of the learning proces is not necessarily the
best! The quality of the tone has to be the decisive factor. Good
information about the tongue block technique, with nice graphics, is to
be found on G's page: Harp on! (URL on my links page).
Most used technique
At the moment, tongue blocking is my most used technique. This was not
a rational decision, but has to do with the things I play and with the
sound I like best. At a certain moment I realised that I tongue block
most of the time. I use the tongue block embouchure for about eighty
percent of the time for holes four to seven, sixty percent of the time
for holes eight to ten and fifty percent of the time for the lower
three holes. I can easily switch from pucker to tongue block and from
tongue block to pucker. I can feel now how many holes I cover with my
tongue. I can also feel which part of my tongue is on the harp. This
isn't always the same part. It depends on where I come from. Most of
the time I cover the holes with the part of my tongue just above the
tip, with the tip of my tongue touching the lower rim of the mouthpiece
or the lower reedplate, depending on the harpbrand. Sometimes the right
side of my tongue, just besides the tip rests on the harp.
How many holes must be covered?
In many courses is told that the tongue has to cover three holes, while
the fourth is being played. This is not always necessary: sometimes I
cover only one hole with my tongue. I even slap one hole sometimes. In this small soundfile, I slap hole 1 when
I play hole 2D or 2B. And in this riff,
which I learned from "The Iceman", I slap hole 1 when I play 2D or 2B
and I slap the hole-less part of the comb left of hole 1, when I play
hole 1D. While playing I sometimes cover two or three holes with my
tongue, all depending on where I am on the harp and which effect I want
to create.
Tilting the harp?
Using the tongue block embouchure I hold the harp slightly tilted: the
right side a bit higher then the left side. The tilt angle, I didn't
measure it exactly, somewhere between five and ten degrees.
While puckering or tongue switching (alternately blowing or drawing out
of the right or the left side of the mouth) I hold the harp in a
horizontal position. But there are no rules: maybe this will different
after some time.
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