Hi Everyone - I've been playing for a few months now. I've been jamming to AG's jam tunes and having fun making up licks. That's been pretty easy as I can blow and draw as I need to.
Been starting to learn licks I hear from others. Quite a few seem to end up being 80-90% draw and 10-20% blow. I'm finding myself running out of breath right in the middle of many of them.
I'd be really grateful to hear any tips or tricks you guys use to let out all that draw and catch your breath in the middle of a lick.
well mikie, most of us started out not having a clue about breathing. most of us onlu use 1/3 to 1/2 of our lung capacity during usual life activities, then we get a harmonica and are startled by our shortness of breath of small capacity. we hear our heroes do seemingly impossible harp parts and wonder how they did that. Magic Dick's Whammer Jammer and Norton Buffalo's solo on Bonnie Raitt's Runaway are a couple of examples. the answer is simple but maybe not easy. breathing exercises like from yoga. voice training. whatever it takes to get access to the real depths of our lungs, i mean down to the bottom or as close as possible. now once that is achieved, and we learn to relax our throat, jaw, and lips and mouth to make a true air column, we begin to find our control. along with all this we learn to do some kind of circular breathing, where we are in haling with the mouth and letting bursts out through our nose at the same time. this is similar to what people who play digiridoo practice and master. to me that's the easy way. took me a long time to arrive at this. i spent about 20 years building up some stamina but not really having tone along with longevity in my playing. i find my best nights playing- and i do gig 3-4 hours a couple times a month along with working at home with my wife and duo partner, and another duo partner as well- is when i take the time to do deep breathing and relaxation stuff before i start.
all of this is my experience and others will back it up one way or another. the other thing is, just keep playing! time practicing will help build muscle and muscle memory as well. and playing with others is a plus however you can arrive at that- living rooms, porches, street corners, bars, coffee houses, whatever. ---------- http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
Practice the lick at a slow speed and concentrate more on making the lick (each note) last a long as possible as opposed to letting it just go by mindlessly, this exercise of slowness will morph into better understanding of how the lick is being executed as well as strengthen your breathe muscles...
To help escalate your understanding of the lick, you can also write it out on paper in a way that makes sense to you – this will possibly help you see a breathing pattern amongst other things such as strong/weak accents etc…
If the lick is using all draw notes, relax and try to imagine that your having a conversation through your harp, in other words – when you converse, you are naturally breathing when talking - your “inhaling and exhaling” – that is your goal as you continue your quest for harmonica excellence…I know… that is easier said then done when applying it to the harmonica – but it’s never to early to strive for that ability!
Last Edited by on Dec 09, 2012 5:54 AM
Joe Filisko has a great concept called the Exhale Push that would help you. There is a study song on his site to help work on it. http://www.filiskostore.com/product/IOUB%20D
@jbone: I've given this some thought, and have got to ask about your circular breathing statement. I play didj, so normal circular breathing is no problem; the cheeks push air out while the lungs draw air in through the nose, but your mention of some sort of reverse circular breathing, where you suck air in through the mouth and let bursts of air out through the nose at the same time; I don't see how its possible (the lungs must be breathing out to exhale through the nose, so how can the cheeks suck in air?).
you're right Lester. it may not be at the exact same time but when your lungs are taking more in than you can let out through your mouth you let extra out through your nose at the same time as you exhale on some notes through your mouth. this is to increase volume of air leaving your lungs while not interrupting a song or riff or solo.
you can actually do a flutter thing with your mouth whilst exhaling through your nose as well but this is not with much power.
what i'm talking about takes place quickly, more between inhales. or during exhales to increase volume of air leaving your lungs.
Breath control is one of the most important things to learn with any wind instrument, harmonicas especially as they are the only (I think) instrument where you can blow and draw - And as you say, 2nd position playing relies heavily on the draw notes.
There could be a few reasons why you are running out of breath. Some of the most important points to consider are:
- Learn to breath with your diaphragm, not your chest.
- Breath through the instrument. Don't suck and blow.
- Don't play too hard. I've heard it said that it is good practice to practice as if there is a sleep baby in the next room. I would agree.
All of this stuff will help your save your breath and also dramatically improve your tone.
Here are a couple of videos which touch on some of these points:
This one is about tone but listen carefully to what Lee is saying around 4:40 - About steaming up the window. It's this action you want, as apposed to blowing out a candle.
