Get ready for the Pull-Slap (Part 1)

Coming soon to BluesHarmonica.com is a Rice Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson

II) Artist Study. In this study you'll hear about the technique called the "Pull-
Slap." In preparation for this we'll spend a week getting ready for it.

Today, review the mechanics of the slap (taught in Tongue Blocking Study 2).
Do some blows and draws and spend a moment defining (as if you were
teaching a new student) what the tongue is doing, what happens on the
harmonica and what the resulting affect musically.

Get ready for the Pull-Slap (Part 2 - The Slap)

Let's see how you did in your description... here's mine.

1) Your lips are over 4 holes (standard size)

2) Your tongue starts off the harmonica
3) Start to breath... as your air ramps up place your tongue on the lower three
holes, leaving the rightmost hole open to sound. The end result is a chord that
leads to a single note (tongue off... tongue on...). Saying "HALL" is helpful...
the "HA" being the chord and the "LL" representing the tongue on the
harmonica.
4) Make sure the single note is clean when done. Rhythmically speaking, the
chord is the pickup and the single note that follows is the target.

Give this a try... really FEEL, HEAR and KNOW what's going on with this
technique...

Get ready for the Pull-Slap (Part 3 - The Pull)

Today, review the mechanics of the PULL (taught in Tongue Blocking Study
3). Do some blow pulls and draw pulls... some blow slaps on the downbeat with
blow pulls on the upbeat... draw slaps on the downbeat and draw pulls on the
upbeat... spend a moment defining (as if you were teaching a new student) what
the tongue is doing, what happens on the harmonica and what the resulting
affect is musically.
Get ready for the Pull-Slap (Part 4 - The Pull)

Let's see how you did in your description of the pull... here's mine...

1) Your lips are over 4 holes (standard size)

2) Your tongue starts ON the harmonica... blocking ALL 4 holes (using the top
of the tongue is preferred... it's wider)
3) Start to breath lightly... nothing should sound... pull your tongue off,
achieving a plucking-like feel (imagine a suction cup popping off of a surface).
4) The pull should be sharp, but quiet (commonly 50% the volume of single
notes), and dissipate very quickly (you don't continue breathing when your
tongue pulls off).
5) The pull is most commonly found on the upbeat, substituting a single note (a
pull is used in place of a single note).
6) The pull's nature is rhythmic.

Give this a try... really FEEL, HEAR and KNOW what's going on with this
technique...

Get ready for the Pull-Slap (Part 5 - Slap & Pull)

It's now time to use these techniques right next to each other (we're not talking
about the Pull-Slap yet... we're getting there!).

Take a look at the lesson Tongue Block Study 3... open the PDF for the lesson...
look at Example 1.1. Slap the 4+, then pull, then slap the 4+, then pull, etc. In
this exercise slaps are on the downbeat and pulls are on the upbeat.

I want you to think, in detail, what your tongue is doing for this exercise. Be
aware of when it's off, and when it's on. When it's on, how many holes are being
covered for each technique (the slap and pull)? Where is the tongue in transition
from technique to technique? Give this a try... more tomorrow.
Get ready for the Pull-Slap (Part 6 - Slap & Pull Defined)

In our example slaps are on downbeats and pulls are on upbeats.

Described carefully we get...

Slap =
1) Tongue starts off the harmonica
2) Start to breath = chord sounds
3) Tongue is placed on the three holes to the left,
leaving the fourth hole to sound.

Transition =
1) Tongue is on the harmonica now, sounding the hole to the right... it needs to
be covered to do a pull. Stick out a bit more of your tongue to cover all the
holes (I like to use more of the top of my tongue... it's wider). At this point all of
the holes are covered and you're ready to perform the pull.

Pull =
1) Breath in very slightly. Since the tongue is covering the face of the
harmonica (no holes are open), nothing will sound
2) Pull your tongue off... "plucking" all the reeds into vibration... now the chord
sounds
3) Stop breathing... the reeds should dissipate their vibration very quickly
4) Your tongue is now off the harmonica, ready to perform a slap, if the
passage calls for it.

This is what happens when placing a slap on the downbeat and a pull on the
upbeat... tomorrow we do the pull-slap!
The Pull-Slap (Part 7 - Defined)

Let's start simply. The pull-slap combines the pull and the slap, making ONE
COMPOSITE sound. Pull and then slap IMMEDIATELY. Give it a try.

The Pull-Slap (Part 8 - Defined)

A slap starts with the tongue off the harmonica... so it is essentially not
articulated. What do I mean by "articulated?" Play 4 draw many times using Ha
Ha Ha Ha... this is your diaphragm pushing little bursts of air through the harp.
Now play it with Ka Ka Ka Ka... this is articulated. Each "K" stops the air and
then allows it to burst back through the harp... it's "sharp."

So, a slap is not articulate (airway is open when you start to breathe). A pull-
slap is articulate (airway starts closed as you start to breathe and then opens for
the pull). Start with your tongue on the harmonica (everything is closed, just
like it was for "K" in our example). Pull off and immediately slap.

The time it takes to do a slap and a pull-slap are the same, the only difference is
that your pull-slap start with the tongue on the harmonica. Do a slap, then start
with your tongue on the harmonica (covering all holes) and perform a pull-slap.
If you do slap, pull-slap, slap, pull slap... the rhythm should be the same for
each one... each should sound very similar, the pull-slap just having more "pop"
or "snap."

Experiment with this...

The Pull-Slap (Part 9 - Final)

Now that the Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller) Artist Study is up we can
finish this thread. Let's review the important points of the pull-slap.

Definition
Start with a pull articulation... finish with a slap... it creates a composite sound
(not two separate sounds) that is in essence an articulated slap.

Here are some more helpful thoughts. Let's use a 4 draw pull-slap as our
example.
1) Start with your tongue covering all holes (four in total... 1 2 3 4)
2) Perform the pull (now the tongue "plucks" off the harmonica)
3) The tongue travels IMMEDIATELY back onto the harmonica for a slap
(tongue covers three holes in total... 1 2 3, leaving hole 4 open to sound)
4) The result is an articulated slap... a slap with some snap!

Common Errors
Most players produce a chicken cluck-like separation, causing the technique to
audibly have two parts... this is wrong... the listener should only here one
sound... essentially no different than a slap.
Also, do not allow the back of the tongue to touch the back of the mouth,
like in "Ka".

As you can assume with all of the focus that I've put into this for you that most
students mess this up. And you would be right! Between this text and video you
now have the most complete instruction on the pull-slap in existence! :-) Now
it's up to you to experiment and give yourself time to dial it in. Have fun... don't
get too frustrated if it doesn't lock in right away.