"Saying" words such as Ta Ta, To To
Thu, 05/28/2015 - 09:44
First, I wish I had found your site before I paid a lot of money for another instructor's DVD set; oh well. In the C intro lesson you mention "saying" words like Kaa Kaa and Koo Koo. I also know that Ta Ta and To To are used. Should I literrally be saying the words into the harp including all of the tongue movement? Ta Ta and To To when spoken completely close off part of the mouth at the very beginning of the syllable, which seems to contradict keeping the tongue down as instructed.
Welcome to the site whaletosh.
Since you're tongue blocking when playing the harmonica you'll not use "T" or "D" articulations.
When tongue blocking you'll use the "K" articulation for draw notes and the same muscle you use for the throat tremolo (the vocal folds... essentially a light cough) for your blow notes.
Your tongue will hit the same place in your mouth as the actually consonant, closing off the air for a split second to create a separation of the air so that you can achieve a separation of the note. This is what articulations are for, for separating notes, especially when you play multiple notes on the same breath, or to make the notes more pronounced.
You will not vocalize when performing these articulations.
When chording you are essentially in the pucker embouchure (your tongue is not on the harmonica) and your tongue is free to articulate in the front. Again, use the "T" to momentarily close the airstream, but keep the back of your tongue down so that you don't end up with an unintended bend.