HotMetal
21 posts
May 26, 2016
3:01 PM
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I picked up Dieter Kropp's Blues Harp Songbook. One of the cool things about it is that it includes a CD of the exercises. When I practice with the bending tracks I find that I am able to do a good bend on hole one and have various results with the other holes. I'm wondering if I should be drawing with more air or is it a question of my technique or is it some combination thereof? Any thoughts?
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Ian
352 posts
May 26, 2016
4:55 PM
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Technique first and foremost I'd say. With practice you will be able to bend very quietly, using very little air (assuming the harp is well set up).
I don't see the harm in wailing on it a bit at first though, if it helps you get the bend... Just don't learn to rely on that as a technique.
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HotMetal
22 posts
May 26, 2016
5:11 PM
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Thanks Ian.
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Harmlessonica
239 posts
May 27, 2016
3:06 AM
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Generally speaking, I find the longer reeds easier to bend. Dependant on the hole you're playing and the key of the harp, you'll need to experiment with your tongue to get the exact resonance to get the bend to activate.
Chances are, you're often overshooting the mark, as the embouchure differences between getting half step bends are very small. At least, that's what I find.
I suggest you practise bends adjusting embouchure as slowly as possible, preferably while playing with a tuner.
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MindTheGap
1652 posts
May 27, 2016
3:21 AM
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To expand a bit on what Ian said, when you get it you'll find it's not about increased flow, although I remember that's what it seemed like before I got it properly. I recall a lot of huffing and puffing to get the pitch to move, but that's really not it at all.
In fact, it feels like there is a little more resistance - I think this is what kHz refers to as 'back pressure', so you probably end up with less airflow, if anything. It's also what I think Adam refers to as 'bending energy', which to me is the feeling that you are reaching inside the harp and pulling on a spring. The more you pull on the spring (lightly) the lower the pitch.
None of this of course will make any sense until you get it :)
Last Edited by MindTheGap on May 27, 2016 3:23 AM
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Killa_Hertz
1508 posts
May 27, 2016
3:51 AM
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Glad to see you back HotMetal. Glad to see your still at it.
Yes i second what Ian and Mtg have said. It may help you at first to use slightly more air. But dont use to much.
Just take your time. Unfortunately most advice you get stunt Make sence until you get it.
But drawing too hard is bad for the harp. So dont go nuts.
But try different keys. Different keys are easier. And the 1 and 4 hole are easiest at first.
I'm in a rush. Gtg. Good luck
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HotMetal
23 posts
May 27, 2016
10:11 AM
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Thanks everyone for all the great advice. I will try out the tips that you have suggested.
I think I might need to just be a little more patient too.
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MindTheGap
1654 posts
May 27, 2016
10:23 AM
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I think that impatience is a useful trait here. I wanted to learn it, and tried every which way until I got it. When you've got it, you've got it. Then you have to refine and control it which takes much practice.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on May 27, 2016 10:28 AM
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SuperBee
3799 posts
May 27, 2016
2:53 PM
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I first picked up a harp...probably in 1967 or so, but 1980 I was 16 and first considered that I might play one. It was not until the mid 90s that I discovered the concept of bending, described in a book, but without (much meaningful) explanation of how to do it. Despite that, I managed to play badly enough to distort some of the notes and figured this must be 'bending'. I don't recall which hole was first but I do know they weren't all responsive at the same time. Such was my pre-Internet ignorance on my penal colony at the end of the world...playing along with records didn't work for me...Peter Ruth got lucky...he just happened to have a Bb harp when he tried jamming along with a sonny terry record on which ST was also playing a Bb, and magic resulted. Every time I tried playing along with a record, something else happened...it may have been magic too, but not a good kind...there was definitely cursing involved...
When I thought I had bending going on quite well...maybe 2008 or so...I spoke to a pro player down the telephone...and he told me I did not have it down at all and I needed to practice it...he prescribed a series of exercises I should play...but gave me no instruction on how to actually do it. Later I spoke with Christelle and she also prescribed an exercise but again it was just a demanding song that required control and attention to the bends but no instruction about how to physically achieve the bends...just do it and be aware of doing it wrong or right and don't be satisfied with wrong.
It really wasn't until I spent time with Jimi Lee that I really got a handle on the process. I mean...I could physically achieve draw bends with sufficient response to bend them all flat as a tack on most harps, but the finesse to move between half steps on one chamber with reasonable accuracy was still eluding me. Elsewhere here I've detailed the exercises I used with JL which I feel were so beneficial. They'd be on the first few pages of this beginners forum...
Bending is one of those things which gets easier...at first it's hard because you can't even practice doing it right...you don't really know how to do it...so you practice doing it badly which reinforces doing it poorly...progress can be slow at first but there comes a tipping point after which it gets much easier quickly. 'Perfecting' it though, is an ongoing process...you won't forget 'how' to do it but it requires constant maintenance for calibration...at least in my experience
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HotMetal
24 posts
May 27, 2016
3:33 PM
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Thanks SuperBee.
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SuperBee
3800 posts
May 27, 2016
4:21 PM
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On reflection...I should add...please don't feel my story of slow progress means it will be a long road...people learn MUCH faster than I did...
Iceman likes to point out that the belief something is difficult is self-fulfilling. I believe him. I believed blow bending was difficult because I read in a book that it was a very difficult technique that would take years and some people could never get it. So I didn't even try for about 10 years. And then I didn't persist but just tried it sporadically over another 8 years or so. Then I decided to try Iceman's advice and did it 5 minutes every day for a few weeks and it all came together pretty nicely...nicely enough for me to be able to use the technique to play songs and feel personally happy and not frustrated at least.
These days there is a lot of info on how to play and everyone should feel optimistic that they will be able to get control of techniques like bending reasonably quickly if they give it some appropriate focus.
I had struggled with half steps for a long time and while I feel exercises like playing challenging songs are good for sharpening your skills, they don't really teach you 'how' to do it, just help you practice control. Learning the skill in the first place is different. But there are lessons can help you with that, and a couple or 3 'live' lessons might jump-start you to a good place.
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