The Pull-Slap (Part 9 - Final)

Now that the Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller) Artist Study is up we can finish this thread. Let's review the important points of the pull-slap.

Definition
Start with a pull articulation... finish with a slap... it creates a composite sound (not two separate sounds) that is in essence an articulated slap.

Here are some more helpful thoughts. Let's use a 4 draw pull-slap as our example.
1) Start with your tongue covering all holes (four in total... 1 2 3 4)
2) Perform the pull (now the tongue "plucks" off the harmonica)
3) The tongue travels IMMEDIATELY back onto the harmonica for a slap (tongue covers three holes in total... 1 2 3, leaving hole 4 open to sound)
4) The result is an articulated slap... a slap with some snap!

Common Errors
1) Most players produce a chicken cluck-like separation, causing the technique to audibly have two parts... this is wrong... the listener should only here one sound... essentially no different than a slap. Also, do not allow the back of the tongue to touch the back of the mouth, like in "Ka".

As you can assume with all of the focus that I've put into this for you that most students mess this up. And you would be right! Between this text and video you now have the most complete instruction on the pull-slap in existence! :-) Now it's up to you to experiment and give yourself time to dial it in. Have fun... don't get too frustrated if it doesn't lock in right away.