harpdude61
1715 posts
Jun 18, 2013
7:49 AM
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Some people are like frozen water about my throat bending techniques, so let me ask this....if you use your tongue shape to get the pitch you want on your bends, then how the heck do you tongue, bent single notes....say triplets...Tah tah tah...tah tah tah ...Seems like you would lose the pitch of the bend if you move your tongue to play a few tah tah tahs.
With throat bending you can play 2 draw bend full step with rapid tonguing just the same as you can two draw unbent.
I also assume this means you can't play TB slaps on holes 1 and 2 while hole 3 is bent half step?
Last Edited by harpdude61 on Jun 18, 2013 7:50 AM
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The Iceman
926 posts
Jun 18, 2013
8:21 AM
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A very good question.
The tongue is the most versatile and acrobatic of all the muscles in the body. It's worth a study in itself.
The tip of the tongue is able to remain stationary while the rest of it is free to curl, arch and contort. Hence, TB w/bends is easy. Tip of tongue on harmonica, back 2/3 of tongue may actively arc up.
Same with triplets...tip of tongue defines the attack of the notes while back 2/3 of tongue is able to arc and hold any bend you wish to accentuate.
Chamber is never compromised if you keep the throat gently open in what I've described as the "pre yawn attitude".
So, study the wonders of the tongue and be amazed.
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The Iceman
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WinslowYerxa
352 posts
Jun 18, 2013
8:42 AM
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I agree with Larry on this. I just tried playing rapid tongued triplets while holding a 2-semitone Draw 2 bend on a Bb harp.
I found that:
- The middle part of the tongue was arching up to effect the bend at the K-spot (where your tongue rises to make the sound of "K"
-- The part immediately in front of the K-spot was arched down
-- The tip was arched back up to touch the roof of the mouth and could articulate both repeated "T" sounds and double-tongue "diddle" sounds.
I can play tongue slaps between bent Draw 3 and an open 1-2-3 draw chord. Again, I find my tongue is effecting the bend in the usual way.
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Winslow
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harpdude61
1717 posts
Jun 18, 2013
10:01 AM
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Cool! I can't do it by tongue bending, but it works well for me while throat bending.
Regardless of the style I think this is a great exercise to check your technique.
What I meant on the slaps was the 3 staying bent whether being played alone or the 123 chord. Fast or slow slaps. Regardless..another great exercise.
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ridge
436 posts
Jun 18, 2013
11:23 AM
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It's a valid question and something I still struggle with. I have a hard time maintaining bent intonation while trying to tongue notes for articulation.
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