This week we continue looking at techniques that change the presentation of the notes played. Tongue blocking offers quite a few techniques. In this article I focus on the side pull technique.
Side pull description
The side pull technique is very simple in principle but can be difficult to execute. As the name implies the tongue is pulled sideways to let air into the harmonica. More specifically part of the tongue is pulled sideways to go from a full block to a standard tongue block position.
The main difference to a tongue slap or a pull slap is that the tongue never leaves the face of the harmonica. It is simply the position and/or width of the tongue that change. This means that there is no chord played as part of the technique giving it a less aggresive sound.
Performing the technique
To peform the technique you start by fully blocking the harmonica and apply breathing pressure. Move your toung or change the with of your tongue on the right side to open up the hole to the right of your tongue. You will need to be in very good control of your tongue to do this correctly as the movement is very small. Use a tongue block trainer to practice. See the two steps below.
Block all holes with the top of the front part of the tounge. 
End result.
The result is a single note that start very abruptly as the air pressure has built up behing your tongue. All that air is now forced passed a single reed on the harmonica.
When to use
You can basically use the side pull technique any time you would consider a tongue slap or a pull slap. It is especially good to use if you feel the other two techniques sound to harsh or aggresive.
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