When tongue blocking on a chromatic....
do you recommend covering two holes or three holes with the tongue, i.e. embouchure, (lips), over 3 holes or 4 holes, or does it vary depending on the music, and is the TB your default embouchure, or again, does that vary with a particular passage. Also with a chromatic, is the harp generally kept parallel to the floor as you play, or is it tilted downward somewhat with the back of the harp higher than the front? I have yet to purchase one, but I plan on getting a Suzuki SCX-48 very soon and am really looking forward to getting started with chromatics.
for your usual informative succinct response. This brings up another question; how do you recommend getting the tongue narrow enough for a "three-hole spread one-hole center block"? I am struggling right now on diatonic getting octaves and other splits covering the 2 center holes. I've tried a light touch just moving my tongue one hole to the right, but when I do have success and then take my tongue off of the harp in front of a mirror, I see that I've been using the underside tip of my tongue. I imagine it will be an easier endeavor on a chromatic.
You can point your tongue down and use the top surface for medium to wide blocks, place the tip directly on the holes, or point it up and use the underside.
When I first went for that one-hole block on diatonic after hearing Little Walter do it, the only way I could make my tongue narrow enough was to use the underside, like you relate.
I just tried it on chromatic and noticed that I could do it in any of the three configurations, though I default to the pointed-up one out of habit.
...very helpful.
Start by covering what comes naturally, then figure out what that is, and work your way inward and outward from there.
if you want to play octaves, you'll need a five-hole spread (the number of holes in your mouth), and a three-hole block (the number of holes blocked by your tongue) in the middle of the spread. This is characteristic of the George Smith West Coast style that has been so influential in recent decades.
if you want the typical Chicago sound, a four-hole spread with a centered two-hole block is the backbone of the style, with occasional use of a three-hole spread and a one-hole centered block.
I se absolutely no benefit to be gained by tipping the back of the chromatic up, especially when tongue blocking. This technique is taught as a way of puckering, aiming the hole down into a U-shaped groove formed by the lower lip. While this is a way of making it easier to get your first single note, I see no real need for it when puckering (except, perhaps, as a training wheel) and absoltely none when tongue blocking. But thats me.
I tongue block nearly all the time nowadays. I started out as a pucker player but shifted over time.