RyanMortos
1 post
Nov 30, 2008
8:21 PM
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Hello,
I'm new to this forum but not new to modern blues harmonica or Mr. Adam Gussow's youtube and store lessons. I've recently begun the endeavor of trying to learn bending technique. I've watched Mr. Gussow's "Bend the 4-Draw" lesson along with a number of other sources including youtube. I apologize in advance if the following is a repeat question but the search didn't find it.
What I'm curious about is, when learning to bend notes the key of harmonica does change the difficulty of doing a bend, right? I have a Hohner blues harp in the key of 'G' and I'm wondering if trying to learn on a key of 'G' is any harder as far as bends are concerned then a key of 'C'? I think I'm getting bends but they sound much more subtle then the ones I hear performed on a 'C' in his lesson. I'd feel better about picking up other keys of harmonicas if I felt I could do this technique. Maybe I just need a few weeks of practicing utilizing some of the "Bend the 4-Draw" techniques to get a bend?
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Oisin
53 posts
Nov 30, 2008
8:29 PM
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Hi Ryan,
once you've learnt to bend you can do it on any of the keys but I'd recommend that you learn it on a C or D harp first as the G harp notes are lower and slightly harder to bend when you first start out.
4 draw is the place to start alright though.
As you'll have seen if you read an earlier post, 2 draw is probably the hardest one to get on any key and it takes a little more practice to get it right.
Keep at it though...in a few months time you'll be bending like a mother and you won't be able to stop!!
Oisin
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Jeff
163 posts
Nov 30, 2008
8:47 PM
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Learning on a G definitely takes a bit more exaggeration, ie. drop your jaw much lower, inhale a bit harder, etc. It would be best learning on a more middle key harp. But as Oisin pointed out, once you get the basic model of how you change the shape of your mouth, you can tailor it to bend any harp.
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TylerLannan
19 posts
Dec 01, 2008
12:06 AM
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try this: (on a c or a d harp as I remember it being easier when I first learned.). Get a cup of almost boiling water, the kind you would use to make a cup of tea with *be careful*. With your harmonica at the ready sip the hot water a couple of times and let it roll around near the back of your tongue when sipping so u get a lower pitched slurping noise. Then pick up your harp and do the same thing on the four hole draw. You should get a nice and clean 4 draw bend. I find that when you sip hot tea or coffee my tongue is in the exact position in my mouth that it would be in when I'm bending a note on a harp. I know that's sounds goofy but it may help. Good luck and keep playing. It will come.
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*you can only keep what you have by giving it away*
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eharp
155 posts
Dec 01, 2008
4:41 AM
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this topic was recently discussed. try this thread:
Bending the 2 draw, pure frustration!
chris michalek has a method he swears by. i would check it out if i were you.
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RyanMortos
2 posts
Dec 01, 2008
5:42 PM
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Thank you all for your advice, I appreciate it. I'm pretty sure I'm getting bends but not 100%. chris michalek's straw trick is definately creating a controllable different sound. Hopefully in time by roughing it with the 'G' when I pick up other keys it'll make those a breeze.
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kudzurunner
178 posts
Dec 01, 2008
6:35 PM
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I find G harps harder to work with than A through D harps, and that's with 33 years experience. Yes, the 3 draw is certainly harder to bend on a G harp--or at least I find it so.
Remember: I used a B-flat harp on most of my first 40 YouTube lessons. B-flat is a meaty key, harp-wise. I find B-flat through E-flat to be the heart of the harp-range. But all these things are somewhat subjective.
In any case, you will certainly find it easier to bend when you finally make the switch to higher keys.
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Miles Dewar
94 posts
Dec 01, 2008
7:24 PM
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I agree. I started out playing with an F harp. I watched a bunch of adam's vids before i ever bought a harp, so i got the basic idea of how to bend in my head. When I got my harp, on the car ride home i started bending. A few months later I got my Bb, It took way more air than my F harp. And the 3d was harder for me to do, the 2d was "impossible". With a little practice, I was bending much easier, I found that i was just pulling a lot harder than i was with my F harp. With my F, it just took a little tongue and jaw movement, with the Bb it felt like I was "sucking the world through that harp".
---Be Positive---
Last Edited by on Dec 01, 2008 7:27 PM
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