tongue block bending
hey david,
new student here. i worked with you in person for a while about 10 years ago in mountain view but moved back to NJ shortly after we started. Just started really practicing again.
So i've been pucker playing my whole life and am really trying to make the switch to full tongue blocking now. I can NAIL my bends while puckering. Perfect and fast. But now it seems like I have to relearn the whole process while my tongue is on the harmonica. Do you have any tips for making this transition? It's very frustrating. I'm getting a very breathy sound most of the time, like most of the air i'm using is being wasted.
BTW, the site is really amazing. Though I realize you need to charge a price people will pay, for the amount of work that has gone in to this you deserve a lot more than what you are charging haha.
thanks so much,
Anthony
Welcome to the site Anthony, and great to hear from you. The process you're going through is a challenging one, but the next six months of struggle (that's commonly how long it takes players to get a handle on TB bending) will really pay off. The physics are the same for pucker and TB bending (see Bending Study 1), but the key is to focus on the "wave-like" action I teach in the lesson. Since your tongue is not free to move back after humping up, you'll need to progressively hump your tongue further and further back (the wave) as you bend. Efficient players do the same (I'm sure you're already doing a little bit of this), but it's "the" key for TB bending. Really work on the "she," "Kee," and "Koo" I teach... the practice will pay off. Good luck!