Lots of puff needed for this one!Īrticulation can help to trigger the start of a note, provide a sequence of repeated notes, or lend certain sound qualities to specific notes.Īny of the hard sounds produced during speech, as well as the long vowel sounds, can be articulated through your harmonica. In each case (except for the 4-7) the dabs are played in a sequence of four triplets. He then transfers up to draw split holes 2-5, back to octave draw 1-4, up to draw split 2-5, up to blow octave 3-6, and finally up to draw split 4-7. The bridge between holes 2 and 3 is the target point for the dab. In Walter’s Boogie, Walter Horton plays a very quick direct draw bend on hole 3, through a straight 3 draw and then octaves 1 and 4, with dabs in holes 2-3. The bridge or comb divider between holes 3 and 4 is the target point for the dab. In Whammer Jammer, Magic Dick plays a direct bend on hole 4, moves into a straight 4 draw and then splits draw holes 2 and 5, with dabs on holes 3-4. Relaxing and letting the harp resonate adds the final touch. You will recognise this by its chunky sound quality. Once you coordinate all this, listen out for the optimum tonal position and adjust accordingly. Favouring 4Das your melody note, draw in breath and apply the tongue flutter. Next, pick up a harp and cover holes 1D=4D with your embouchure, ensuring the harp is pushed well into your mouth for tone. To begin learning this technique, touch the underside of your upper lip with the widened tip of your extended tongue and say la-la-la, la-la-la. When applied, we are not poking out a rigid tongue, but flattening and relaxing it, and using the underside of the front end to detect the central divider of our target holes. It is delivered to a subtle triplet rhythm, while giving precedence to the melody note in the highest blocked hole. It is a medial on-off application of the underside of the tongue, not a lateral sweep or trill. In effect it is tongue blocking across 4 holes, while rapidly opening and covering the lower blocked holes to produce an intermittent chord. In both cases Magic Dick and Walter Horton use this technique. This an effect Mark Feltham uses on 9 Below Zero’s fantastic album ‘Live At The Marquee’.Ĭheck out the very start of Whammer Jammer or Walter’s Boogie. For the record, I find diddling easier and faster than ta-ta-ing! For a great effect, try alternating rapidly between draw 2 and blow 3 using a single ‘Diddley’ in each direction. On upper notes you can mimic a cricket or 1970’s trim telephone.īy articulating with your tongue, you can give the impression of playing single notes rapidly. Try saying either ‘Ta-ta-ta’ or ‘Diddley’ as you blow or draw. Your tongue does not actually touch the harp, but stays inside your mouth. When used lightly on lower notes you can mimic a cat’s purr. This is when you roll your ‘r’ like a Scotsman (She was a bonny girrl) or Spaniard (Muy grrrrande). By repeating the process, a jig or shuffle rhythm can be created. Tongue slapping is achieved when you briefly catch all four notes before ’slapping’ your tongue onto the harp to single out the one note you need. Either way the result is a system of playing where you work from the side of the mouth rather than from a central pucker. The reverse can also be true however – you could block 2 to 4 and play hole 1 (blow or draw). So you might blocks holes 1 to 3 and play hole 4 (blow or draw). Typically this means blocking the three holes to the left and playing the remaining hole on the right. Instead of pursing or puckering, you are covering about four holes with your mouth, blocking off three holes with your tongue and playing the remaining hole. This is a technique which goes hand in hand with the tongue block method of playing harmonica.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |