suyash_4376
3 posts
Apr 13, 2015
11:29 AM
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Ok, so let me give a little background.
Got my first harmonica last november. Got clean single notes and played some melodies by december. By january moved on to harp tabs. By feb, I could make music from holes 3 to 9 and play my fav songs. Around this time I started tongue articulation and got my first bends. As of today, I got my first blow bend and got the pitch right on my 3 hole draw full step bend and 2 hole draw full step bend(using HarpNinja). And started working on single notes using tongue blocking.
So, how do I use these bends in music? I tried twinkle twinkle little star and some other songs using 2 and 3 hole bends but cant seem to get the feeling of song. The bends sound absurd. I don't know if I can create any music from it.
Share your experiences and suggest some exercises to help me hit the pitch right and fast. Coz when I bend the pitch goes down and then I have to adjust it.
Thanx in advance....
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Diggsblues
1779 posts
Apr 13, 2015
11:51 AM
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Using a C harp in the low end try this:
Play c d e f g f e d c
then g a b c d c b a g
then d e f# g a g f# e d
then a b c# d e d c# b a
This a good place to start.
Do these patterns on as many key harps as you have.
The transposition will work without thinking just play the other keys as if you were in C.
I would start with your low harps and work to your highest.
These are standard patterns practiced on many instruments.
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The Iceman
2386 posts
Apr 13, 2015
1:31 PM
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Bending is a technique that takes a minute to learn to control.
Bending is kinda fluid, but within are contained actual notes.
As you pursue this technique, also learn where those notes are within and remember how you got there so you can reproduce just those notes as stand alone entities without sliding up and down.
It is similar to how a trombone or fretless bass guitar learns where the notes live without a visual reference point.
Then you will have more notes to use for twinkle and other songs. You will also gain an understanding into how you can effectively use the technique to bend down and up to notes, creating that bluesy wailing sound.
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The Iceman
Last Edited by The Iceman on Apr 13, 2015 1:32 PM
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STME58
1276 posts
Apr 13, 2015
2:54 PM
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"Bending is a technique that takes a minute to learn to control." Brilliant understatement!!
It took me a couple of years before a bent note sounded anything like a note I would use in a melody. They were not only out of tune but very weak and airy sounding.
My first instrument is trombone and the comparison is right on. You have to learn to use your ears.
An exercise I like, is to play any simple melody you know well (Hymns are great for this) in the middle of the harp, where you do not have to use any bends, then play it on the low end and try to make the intervals the same using bends as they were on the straight notes an octave up. Playing the major scale starting on hole 1 and going up all 3 octaves will also improve your accuracy on bending. Use the sound of the middle octave to check your bent notes on holes 2,3 in the low octave and 9 in the high octave. For me, the 9 blow bend was the hardest to get right.
Last Edited by STME58 on Apr 13, 2015 2:59 PM
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Harmlessonica
125 posts
Apr 13, 2015
3:17 PM
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Hi Suyash, sounds like you've made good progress so far.
I'm still learning bending myself, but perhaps I can share a couple of thoughts that might help.
The first is that whilst you might be able to bend a note in isolation, getting to that point in the context of a song is going to take a lot of practise. Just like when we first learn single notes and how to jump to non-adjacent holes, we need to learn via muscle memory. This is the same for bending, but the muscles are primarily internal, such as your tongue. Also, you'll need to learn those muscular positions so well that your tongue is ready for the bend before you even get to the hole to be played. Otherwise, every bent note would be preceded by a short pause.
The second thought is with regards to tone. If, like me, you initially tried to get to half-step bends (perhaps inadvertently) by lowering your jaw, a tuner may detect that you're producing the correct pitch. However, if you're only lowering your jaw on the bends, the tone will be inconsistent with the rest of a melody and sound odd. Ideally, you should aim to keep your jaw in a consistent position, but concentrate on adjusting your tongue position minute amounts.
Of course, you can still adjust your jaw if you deliberately want to add tone for expression.
Hope those 'jaw-dropping' thoughts prove helpful. :)
Last Edited by Harmlessonica on Apr 13, 2015 3:22 PM
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SteveTech
28 posts
Apr 13, 2015
4:57 PM
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David Barret helped my bending tone tremendously by telling me to relax while I was bending.
If you know what to do with your tongue to bend, just do it without straining. It's a bit of mind over matter to relax and hold that tongue position, but it helped me almost overnight.
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-Steve
Last Edited by SteveTech on Apr 13, 2015 4:57 PM
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nacoran
8414 posts
Apr 13, 2015
5:13 PM
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It took me a while to learn bending and when I did I had a hard time working them into what I was playing because everything I knew I'd learned in first position.
If you are anything like me you are probably playing a lot of tunes with the 4 blow as the root. Try moving the melodies to start on the 2 draw instead and work them out.
You can also use them as ornamentation. I actually play Twinkle Twinkle as a warm-up sometimes, but Jazz it up a bit. I start on the 4 blow-
4 4 6 6 -6 6, but I bend and release 6 draw to make a little flourish. There are lots of spots in music where you can add things like that. (I've actually been meaning to make a recording of it. I sing it sort of Rat Pack style.)
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Nate
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First Post- May 8, 2009
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Komuso
549 posts
Apr 13, 2015
5:52 PM
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Hi suyash_4376
Don't forget to also use the note buttons in HarpNinja in addition to referencing the visual tuner.
The buttons are important as they play the actual notes so you can work your ear as well as your eye, similar to hitting a piano key.
You can hear how close you are to the note as your note will sound out of tune and depending how far off you are you will hear the beat tones, the same as tuning a guitar.
This also works in the keyboard view if you prefer a piano keyboard reference.
You can also play some fun little practice games with yourself using the visual tuner, sliding up and down the full range and seeing how you can control it. Jumping from one tone to another to "see" how accurately you can hit it, while hitting the button to hear it and tune your ear as well.
Both the visual tuner reference and the note sounds are objective feedback on how accurate and in control your bending technique actually is.
re: using them in a musical context
There's a simple practice routine for working on this I outline here: HarpNinja Practice Tips
In short a focused practice session is:
Pick one learning goal for the session
Work on the technical aspect of it you want to polish
Apply that aspect in a musical context
rinse - repeat
fwiw I strongly disagree with the assertion you can't use visual tools to check bending accuracy as part of your learning and practice routine.
(and not just because I have a vested interest as a developer of tools like HarpNinja)
If that's the only tool you rely I would tend to agree, for the reasons I outline above.
But used in conjunction with other audio and visual aids there is no problem at all. It's a tool. Use your ears and your eyes to learn music. Have fun and learn at the same time.
For the more creatively adventurous there is also the whole performance domain of visual music and music visualization dating back hundreds of years that is powering on with computers and digital audio.
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Paul Cohen aka Komuso Tokugawa
HarpNinja - Learn Harmonica Faster
Bringing the Boogie to the Bitstream
Last Edited by Komuso on Apr 13, 2015 6:32 PM
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suyash_4376
4 posts
Apr 14, 2015
12:17 AM
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Hey, @Diggsblues
I think those are some amazing drills you got there. Will definitely try them. Thanx
@theiceman I was using a similiar kind of technique for adjusting pitch on the 3 draw full step and 3 draw 1 and a half step on my C and A harps(sometimes also G). Will stick by it. Thanx.
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suyash_4376
5 posts
Apr 14, 2015
12:20 AM
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Hey @STME58,
I am actually trying to play some melodies using the bent notes and the intervals. But, I think I will follow your suggestion and incorporate it in my daily practice. Also, could you shed more light on that by ear thing. I am having some trouble with it.
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suyash_4376
6 posts
Apr 14, 2015
12:24 AM
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Hey @Harmlessharmonica
I am working on developing the muscle memory thing. I can feel that it will take a long time. Also, I still havent exactly got my half step bends on holes 3 and 2, still I will watch out for the jaw dropping.
Hey @SteveTech
I strained at start just to get the note so that I could "get" the bent note to sound. Then I started figuring out my tongue positions which will produce the same sound...
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suyash_4376
7 posts
Apr 14, 2015
12:29 AM
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Hey @nacoran,
I heard that 6 draw bend technique on a harmonica cover of "the eye of the tiger" and "numb" on youtube. I think it will be a good idea to incorporate it in my playing.
Hey @Komuso
I wasnt using the audio in harpninja for sometime. I might have forgotten what bends exactly sound like i.e. what pitch I am trying to hit. I was relying mostly on the visual tuner. Thanks for shining some light upon it. Also, that controlling the bends analogy is also a great idea. I will incorporate it. Thanx...
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nacoran
8422 posts
Apr 14, 2015
11:30 AM
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LOL! Yep. Works well on Eye of the Tiger! (Just had to play it to check!)
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Nate
Facebook
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First Post- May 8, 2009
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STME58
1283 posts
Apr 14, 2015
1:34 PM
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What I mean by by ear in this context is getting in tune with another instrument or hitting the correct interval using your ear rather than a tuner. All musicians need to learn this but it is more critical with fretless instruments like trombones and cellos and harmonicas on the bend notes. You need to be able to hear when you are out of tune and make the adjustment quickly. Better yet, hit the pitch right on from the attack. Be careful if you use a piano as a reference, many pianos are in tune with them selves but will not match your harp. You can not move a tuning slide on your harp to match the piano like a trumpet player can. Sounds like the Harpninja mentioned above has reference notes built in.
For interval training, some folks use familiar songs as references i.e the first two notes in "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" are an octave apart.
Last Edited by STME58 on Apr 14, 2015 1:41 PM
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suyash_4376
8 posts
Apr 15, 2015
10:29 AM
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I agree @STME58
I think I can match it by training my ear using harp ninja. Thanks again.
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Steamrollin Stan
822 posts
Apr 16, 2015
8:20 AM
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6 months with the harp. Tricky little instrument eh?
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mlefree
288 posts
Apr 17, 2015
11:30 AM
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No question, any competent diatonic harmonica player should be able to hit the notes within the bendable range of a given hole dead-on. They should not only be able to hit them by bending into them, they should be able to hit them pre-bent. These are sort of rudimentary skills for a blues harper.
But, the question was, how to use them musically. Although it is important to master, I think people often over emphasize being able to hit them pre-bent spot-on. In the context of musicality I think it is equally important to master bending into the actual note both from below and above.
If you listen to some of the great melodic harmonica players you will hear them sliding into notes in very smooth, melodic way that can completely influence the feel of the song.
At least that's the way I see it.
Michelle
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email: mlefree@silverwingleather.com
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