Tips for U Blocking Technique

[Frank.Bullitt]

When i got my first Chromatic (Toots Mellow Tone) i bought myself Method for Chromatic Harmonica by Max De Aloe.

I read a part that states that 'some harmonica players curl their tongue into a U-shape, channeling the air stream through the middle. This is a little-used technique, in part because not everybody's tongue is flexible enough. Of the harmonica players i have met, the great Bruno De Filippi used this technique.'

This is the technique i found came most natural to me, and almost a year later I'm still using the same embouchure. After reading a recent post by a fellow SlideMeister, i thought I'd ask for a few tips on this kind of playing.

- I still stuggle to get the draw notes from hole one and two without breathing in through my nose, I'm considering just putting a peg on my nose to be done with it LOL. Can anyone give advice on U tongue playing while on the low octave?

- Is it normal to struggle to play on the twelfth hole with the slide in? And would adding windsavers aide with this?

I am curious, how many forum members play with this technique?

[brorat]

My understanding is that one must have certain genetics in order to shape their tongue this way. I do NOT have the genes!!  I use a tongue block technique, but not the u-shape. As for nose air, I tend to let my nose be my relief valve!  I’ll let a little excess air in my lungs “leak out” during a blow note if I think I need more draw capacity I am upcoming note. FWIW.

[llumagsara]

Robertpcoble give a very good explain here about more than three years ago...
https://forums.SlideMeister.com/index.php?topic=16167.msg201915#msg201915
replies #6 and #7...

good health

Agustín

[John Broecker]

Hello, Frank Bullitt.

I've been playing harmonicas with
a U-block for over 50 years. It's
my main embouchure. Like the
other embouchures, it has plusses
and minuses.

The U-block works best for single
note melodies. But not for chordal
playing or octave switching, 8va playing.

I play mostly on a CX-12 tenor,
key of C. Your question seems to
point to new performer's standard
breathing techniques.

"Muscle memory" is applied to the
holes 1 & 2, and hole 12. In other
words, to develop the proper tones
for those holes, we should practice
relaxed, long tones. We are training
the embouchure and breathing.

Here are a few things to try, to
make playing of holes 1 & 2 inhale,
with no nose inhaling; and hole 12
easier to play. These mouthpiece
holes seem to be problematic mostly
for new players.

The following statements are opinions,
based only on my experience.

1. slow, relaxed playing: listen for a solid,
unchanging tone on one single note. If the
tone has strong and weak waves, it isn't
what we want.

2. for the low octave holes (on a tenor or 64
harmonica), we should enlarge the mouth cavity.
Those reeds need a larger, more open mouth cave,
than the other octaves. Try it on your Mellow Tone.
It may only work on 64 harps and tenors.

3. high octave reeds need a smaller mouth cave,
to add air pressure to achieve the notes.

4. I don't know if adding valves to holes 9-12 would
achieve any positive result.

Best Regards, Stay Healthy

John Broecker
Sussex, Wisconsin, USA

[Frank.Bullitt]

Hello, Frank Bullitt.

I've been playing harmonicas with
a U-block for over 50 years. It's
my main embouchure. Like the
other embouchures, it has plusses
and minuses.

The U-block works best for single
note melodies. But not for chordal
playing or octave switching, 8va playing.

I play mostly on a CX-12 tenor,
key of C. Your question seems to
point to new performer's standard
breathing techniques.

"Muscle memory" is applied to the
holes 1 & 2, and hole 12. In other
words, to develop the proper tones
for those holes, we should practice
relaxed, long tones. We are training
the embouchure and breathing.

Here are a few things to try, to
make playing of holes 1 & 2 inhale,
with no nose inhaling; and hole 12
easier to play. These mouthpiece
holes seem to be problematic mostly
for new players.

The following statements are opinions,
based only on my experience.

1. slow, relaxed playing: listen for a solid,
unchanging tone on one single note. If the
tone has strong and weak waves, it isn't
what we want.

2. for the low octave holes (on a tenor or 64
harmonica), we should enlarge the mouth cavity.
Those reeds need a larger, more open mouth cave,
than the other octaves. Try it on your Mellow Tone.
It may only work on 64 harps and tenors.

3. high octave reeds need a smaller mouth cave,
to add air pressure to achieve the notes.

4. I don't know if adding valves to holes 9-12 would
achieve any positive result.

Best Regards, Stay Healthy

John Broecker
Sussex, Wisconsin, USA

Thanks for this it's really helpful and im glad to know that this technique of playing doesn't get in the way of playing those trickier reeds.

When i lower my jaw down quite far i find it helps to get a bit closer to the note i get while inhaling through my nose, but i feel like i have to reposition my tongue, as while my lower jaw moves down it changes my tongues position.

Speaking of muscle memory with this technique, are you able to play between notes on the lower octave and in the middle octave at speed without having to think about the cave size and position of the tongue? And how long did it take to get this in muscle memory?

Do you find this embochure has an effect on the tone?
I prefer the sound of it personally, but that might be because i have a bit more practice playing this way haha.

And lastly, are there any other famous players besides Bruno that you know use this technique? I wouldn't mind hearing them play 

[Gnarly He Man]

Norton Buffalo.

[Carl Bakker]

Hi Frank,

I am an incurable but happy U-blocker since many years. My tongue automatically forms the U channel when I start playing. It took me years to find out what was actually happening.

- I still stuggle to get the draw notes from hole one and two without breathing in through my nose, I'm considering just putting a peg on my nose to be done with it LOL. Can anyone give advice on U tongue playing while on the low octave?

I have also notice that I sometimes breathe (inhale) through my nose when playing in the lowest octave (mainly when playing on one of my 16-hole chromatics). I don't consider this as a bad habit since I think it is helpful when playing these low notes (which tend to choke when drawing/inhaling too strongly). I think one should not get too worried about this breathing through the nose.

- Is it normal to struggle to play on the twelfth hole with the slide in? And would adding windsavers aide with this?

I am curious, how many forum members play with this technique?

If I understand correctly, that's the highest note you can get (high D). These high notes in holes 11 and 12 are often difficult to play on any harmonica, irrespective of the playing technique used. Adding windsavers is not helpful (or even detrimental), that's why the top channels are not fitted with windsavers by the manufacturers. What can help to improve the playability of these very high notes:
- very careful adjustment of the gapping (tiny changes can have big effects)
- reducing the channel volume by plugging some plastic stuff into the channel (but not too much;requires some experimenting). Although some combs have channels fitted with ramps, this may not be enough.

Good luck!

Carl B.

[Gatty1010]

- I still stuggle to get the draw notes from hole one and two without breathing in through my nose, I'm considering just putting a peg on my nose to be done with it LOL. Can anyone give advice on U tongue playing while on the low octave?

- Is it normal to struggle to play on the twelfth hole with the slide in? And would adding windsavers aide with this?

I am curious, how many forum members play with this technique?

1. It is normal to breathe in or out through your nose. This air through the nose is a regulator. It is meant to regulate the pressure that is required to make the reed sound.

2. 11th & 12th hole are difficult to play. I play these notes with smaller embouchure. Reed offsetting helps, please try that.

--------------------

Note : I can't recall using the 12th hole notes in a melody, but I do play them during the initial warm up. It needs more pressure to sound them as compared to the notes in lower holes.

[Carl Bakker]

Here is an example with "hole 12 draw, slide pressed" (high D note).

https://soundcloud.com/matthias_buchinger/der-herr-mein-hirte-the-lords-my-shepherd?si=003902c87d0c4cdf8be3017e24bd594b

The highest note occurs near the end of the seccond and fourth strophe. I used a Seydel Chromatic Deluxe Steel for playing the high notes.

[John Broecker]

Hello, U-Blockers.

Brorat:

For a while, I also believed that the
U-block was an hereditary gift. Then,
I asked my doctor, who told me that
every living human can curl the tongue
as in U-blocking.

Carl Bakker & Gatty:

Thanks for your posts. As a mostly
self-taught harmonica player, I was
unaware of your information about
U-block techniques.

Frank.Bullitt:

Question 1: about lowering your jaw
for the lower octave reeds: Observe
what you are doing when you play
the lowest 8va reeds, and remember
what you are doing. Don't get too
bogged down by analysis, just play.
Your mouth will train itself, through
practice.

2: Lower to mid-range changes at speed:
For me, yes, I do that, it's natural. I don't
remember exactly, but I'd gues that muscle
memory took over around 1-2 years of
playing. Don't be discouraged, you'll do it,
too.

3. Does the U-block affect the player's tone?
The player controls (a guess) 95% of the
harmonica's tone. For me, the U-block gets
the best tone of the 3 basic types of mouth
shapes (embouchures), because I've used it
much more than the other types: pucker &
tongue blocking.

4. Famous players who use U-block? Unknown
to me. I don't listen to other players very often.
And, I can't trust my hearing impaired ears to
objectively provide an answer to that question.

Best Regards, Stay Healthy

John Broecker
The Matlock of U-block.

[brorat]

I appreciate the feedback, John, but your doc ain't ever met my tongue

[Carl Bakker]

3. Does the U-block affect the player's tone?
The player controls (a guess) 95% of the
harmonica's tone. For me, the U-block gets
the best tone of the 3 basic types of mouth
shapes (embouchures), because I've used it
much more than the other types: pucker &
tongue blocking.

I agree (although I have not tried puckering and tongue blocking long enough). With U-blocking, I can shape the sound by changing my mouth cavity or by touching the mouthpiece only lightly or putting it relatively deep into my mouth. Although, I believe that U-blocking helps me to avoid saliva entering the instrument, since the tip of the tongue touches the mouthpiece only lightly (or not at all). So my harmonicas stay rather clean inside for long time, without requiring much cleaning.

[Aramis]

When i got my first Chromatic (Toots Mellow Tone) i bought myself Method for Chromatic Harmonica by Max De Aloe.

I read a part that states that 'some harmonica players curl their tongue into a U-shape, channeling the air stream through the middle. This is a little-used technique, in part because not everybody's tongue is flexible enough. Of the harmonica players i have met, the great Bruno De Filippi used this technique.'

This is the technique i found came most natural to me, and almost a year later I'm still using the same embouchure. After reading a recent post by a fellow SlideMeister, i thought I'd ask for a few tips on this kind of playing.

- I still stuggle to get the draw notes from hole one and two without breathing in through my nose, I'm considering just putting a peg on my nose to be done with it LOL. Can anyone give advice on U tongue playing while on the low octave?

- Is it normal to struggle to play on the twelfth hole with the slide in? And would adding windsavers aide with this?

I am curious, how many forum members play with this technique?

Regarding difficulty in different registers, are you breathing with your diaphragm? a combination of a lack of air support and embouchure could be the cause of your challenges. Generally, I advocate for changing tonguing based on context as different positions favour different types of passages which is why you won't find any particular player exclusively one tonguing position after a certain level (especially true for diatonic players )

I should again stress how important air support is

[SlideMeister]

Here's an opinion. (so, don't nobody get mad and start throwing stuff )

I'm all about tone and phrasing, so to me, while the U-block may (arguably) be helpful in isolating and hitting the right hole, it also disallows 80% of the tonal control. I would be curious to know if any pros use this method. I'm always up for a good surprise, and THAT would be a good one.

Tone and the variation thereof, (for me) has always been with a pucker, cuz it gives my tongue access to the whole playground. The tongue block allows less, and the U-Block / "Groove-tongue" pretty much allows none.

[Carl Bakker]

Here's an opinion. (so, don't nobody get mad and start throwing stuff )

I'm all about tone and phrasing, so to me, while the U-block may (arguably) be helpful in isolating and hitting the right hole, it also disallows 80% of the tonal control. I would be curious to know if any pros use this method. I'm always up for a good surprise, and THAT would be a good one.

Tone and the variation thereof, (for me) has always been with a pucker, cuz it gives my tongue access to the whole playground. The tongue block allows less, and the U-Block / "Groove-tongue" pretty much allows none.

In my opinion, U-block gives more "tonal control" than puckering. I can modify the sound using my mouth cavity. Also, I can take the mouthpiece deep into my mouth, or touch the surface of the mouthpiece only slightly with my lips, and any position between these two extremes can be used. I cannot imagine how puckering would allow this kind of variability.

It's hard to know how widespread this technique is, since some or many use it without being aware of what is actually happening when they put the harmonica into their mouth.

[SlideMeister]

I dunno. Maybe I'm just weird, but I get most of my tonal control from where my tongue is and what it's doing. Can't imagine nailing it own to one position without limiting my tonal choices.

[The Lone Harper]

Norton Buffalo discussing U blocking;

[brorat]

This is somewhat of a repeat of previous posts on this thread, BUT !!!...

JB (in posts below) is correct in saying studies have been done that prove that the ability to "roll the tongue" is NOT a hereditary trait.  (Sorry Mrs. Fawcett who taught me high school biology!). 
HOWEVER ... those very same studies prove that roughly 20% to 30% of all people can NOT roll their tongue!
I'm one of those!  I've tried really hard to learn it.  My mom could tie a knot in a cherry stem with her tongue.  My tongue, on the other hand, is just a slab of muscle that resides in my mouth.  It does its primary job quite well.
 
The bottom line is this:  For some group of us, U-Blocking isn't an option!  I couldn't do it if my life depended on it!
That's ok with me.  Combination of tongue blocking and pucker will likely get me through the rest of my days

[Grizzly]

I've seen some people who could make the tongue appear to have a few u-grooves. I wonder if it would be helpful in playing fifths or some such.

Tom

[brorat]

I've seen some people who could make the tongue appear to have a few u-grooves. I wonder if it would be helpful in playing fifths or some such.

Tom

 

[ejacob4]

I U block. Don’t know if it matters, but I started using it on diatonic. I wanted accuracy, flexibility, and a bit of grit, but not so much as 1968 loved ever so much. I was not, still am not, by choice, a chord player.

Got my first chrome in the golden age of cheese graters. Still, the accuracy, flexibility, and little bit of grit worked for me. Best part is that the holes were, are, so much bigger.

U block on a folkmaster is difficult. Tiny holes.

Can’t say for anyone else, but aside from where it touches the hole, my tongue is dynamic. So is my oral cavity. Didn’t think about it at all until some guy who saw me playing told me. It made sense when I thought about it. Whenever I play I try to make this sound, that sound, or one I don’t know how to, so oral consistency left the building long ago. Guess that’s why bending seems easier, or kinda unavoidable.

I played for a few years in my teens, and the last sixteen. Strictly amateur. I get the feeling that the vast majority of professional performers use tongue block, or pucker.

Hope that’s the kind of response you were looking for.

Best regards,
Ed

[John Broecker]

About a year ago, I observed that I was
often using a tongue block instead of the
U-block. The TB has always been the most
difficult of the 3 basic embouchures, for me.

Like diaphragm breathing and the pucker,
one day it was there, without any effort.

Grizzly: Wally Peterman taught me to try
blocking the middle hole on a TB, leaving
the 2 corners open, to get 5th intervals
(double stops). It was very difficult for me,
and I only achieved it once. It's a reversed
U-block.

In the U-block, the corners of the tongue are
blocked, with the centered reed played; in the
reversed, the centered reed is blocked and the
corners are played.

On a standard solo system slide chromatic,
key of C, Large letters (C E G C ) are exhale;
small letters (d f a b) are inhale; bold letters
are blocked:

PLAYING 5ths INTERVALS
(blocking the notes that are in bold print):

C E G C C E G C C E G C  (exhaled notes)

d f a b ; or b d f a  (inhaled notes)

Best Regards, Stay Healthy

JB