Squeaky Tongue Blocked Draws
Mon, 05/27/2019 - 17:50
Hello David,
Thank you for the wonderful lessons. I face a few issues when I am practising tongue blocking. Would be really great if you can help me with your suggestions.
- The tongue blocked draws are muddy/squeaky/no sound, not all the time but most of the time. Especially when I am coming back from 6+ to 4 and also this happens almost all the time when I keep the harmonica slightly tilted as mentioned in the lessons.
- Also, I get leakage (slight notes from next holes when I blow while sliding on the harmonica.
- I noticed that air escapes on the right side so what I do is slightly press the harmonica towards my cheek on my right side so that there is no gap between my lips and holes on the right side. Is this okay (good practice)?
- I am able to do two notes easily if I am covering three holes at a time rather than the four holes at a time, as mentioned in the lessons. Why do we try to cover 4 holes at a time rather than three?
Best regards,
S
Hello sashidar, I'm glad you're enjoying your studies. Answers below...
- Draws typically take longer to master. When we blow, the lips blow outward (mouth getting larger). When we draw, the lips suck inwards (getting smaller). I recommend you experiment with using a larger embouchure, so that your lips don't squeeze together when you draw (this means to have your lips larger and tongue more to the left). Playing softer can also help a lot (less suction to bring your lips together).
- You'll get this with practice. Keep a light touch with your lips and tongue on the face of the harmonica and it will come with time.
- I don't recommend you do this. Keep your angle of attack the same for both sides right now. You may change this when playing amplified (for cupping purposes), but this is for a different reason.
- Having your lips surround four holes, with your tongue blocking the three to the left is so that you have a large chordal sound when you do the common slaps, flutters, and pulls (you'll learn these later). It also makes octaves available (again, you'll learn this later) with a slight movement of the tongue. Though having your lips over three holes is fine for right now, in the next lesson, and all those after, it will be apparent why you're working on this preferred larger embouchure technique now.
Keep it up, you'll get it! It takes a couple months for most players to get consistent single notes.