roadharp
52 posts
Jul 20, 2010
8:55 AM
|
working on my three hole bend i use the e eu o aw man that aw is a bitc_ to get any help .i think i get it some times if i am not going to far down.i want it for playing third position mostley. thanks sin road harp.
|
HarpNinja
558 posts
Jul 20, 2010
9:24 AM
|
It helps to have a harp well gapped to hit the bends. I suggest a lower key like Bb or A to start on.
If you can, use your computer or tuner or piano, etc. to sound the note you are trying to hit and then match it with the harmonica. You can spot check by playing the note and then checking it against a tuner, but trying to match the pitch works better for me.
I also play the same pitch in different octaves to hear that as a reference point...then playing arppeggios and scales to hear the different intervals.
I use dee, doo, dah. If you bend it all the way down, it will be too flat like when you hammer on the lowest 2 hole bend.
When practicing, I always use vibrato on the bends, but that is just a personal preference.
----------
Mike
|
Tuckster
665 posts
Jul 20, 2010
9:40 AM
|
Practice "Mary Had a Little Lamb". It's nothing but 3 hole bends and some of the 2 hole.
|
stephenf26
11 posts
Jul 20, 2010
9:54 AM
|
On, say, a Bb harp, what should the 3 draw note names be, if properly performed?
3D unbent
3D first bend
3D second bend
3D third bend?
|
barbequebob
1030 posts
Jul 20, 2010
10:01 AM
|
Roadharp, one of the first things you need to do is to use MUCH LESS breath force to do it and stop trying to force things to happening, which is very typical of nearly every newbie. Why less breath force?? You lose complete control over eveything you're doing when you use too much of it and plus you're also playing very physically uptight, and this makes things 100 times worse.
----------
Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
|
ridge
48 posts
Jul 20, 2010
10:02 AM
|
3D Natural
3D Half-Step Bend
3D Whole-Step Bend
3D One and a Half-Step Bend
I've heard them called Single, Double and Triple bends as well.
On a C Diatonic:
3 Draw Natural is 'B'
3 Draw Half-Step is 'Bb'
3 Draw Whole-Step is 'A'
3 Draw One and a Half-Step is 'Ab'
|
joeleebush
38 posts
Jul 20, 2010
3:15 PM
|
The 3 hole draw has some interesting characteristics.
You must learn to cut off breathing through your nose and only take air in through the mouth when getting that 3 hole bend as in "Off The Wall" by Jacobs.
Then you must be able to turn around and take air in through your mouth AND nose to get a smooth, clean, 3-4 warble. Various keyed harps will give some distintively different sounds too.
This is a bitch to transfer and I know you're reading it and thinking "what a psycho". I been trying to transfer the knowledge for about 40 years....without much success either, I might add.
|
groyster1
250 posts
Jul 20, 2010
3:22 PM
|
@barbequebob
your advice to use less breath force has been listened to by me and have heard it from a local harp player also----I am really trying to practice this along with playing laid back and relaxed thanks a lot
|
Greg Heumann
678 posts
Jul 20, 2010
4:47 PM
|
@stephenf26 - unless you are WAY into music theory and already comfortable with multiple positions on your harps, start by learning ONLY the note names on your C harp, which Ridge has given you. It is really difficult to learn the names of every note on every harp - but once you learn them on the C harp, any knowledge you gain transfers to every other harp as simply hole numbers and positions. For example, if you play some blues in G in 2nd position, you'll use your C Harp. You probably already know that the root (G) can be found on the 2 draw and 3 blow. The major 3rd of a G Chord is B, which is hole 3 draw, and the minor or flat third is Bb which is 3 draw bent down a half step. No matter what harp you play in second position, the root will be on 2 draw/3 blow; the minor 3rd will always be hole 3 bent down a half step. The note names will be different but the position relative to the chord tone you want will be the same.
@Tuckster - Mary Had a Little Lamb may be a good starting bending exercise but it only uses the whole tone and the full step bend. A better exercise is to simply play 3, 3', 3", 3"', 3+, 3"', 3", 3' 3
----------
/Greg
|
roadharp
53 posts
Jul 20, 2010
4:49 PM
|
thanks for all the help guys.
|
roadharp
54 posts
Jul 20, 2010
4:57 PM
|
greg thats what i am doing using the e eu o aw i will just keep working at it i wll try to use less breath force probley not a bad idea at myage anyway 57. thanks been playing along time i just want to get that bend down right it just something i want to achive befor i die lol.road harp
|
Joch230
249 posts
Jul 20, 2010
5:56 PM
|
One thing I notice...but sometimes when I'm playing a tune with 3 whole draw bend notes in it...whole or half or wholeandHalf...it will be like those notes sound like they are coming from a trumpet or horn/trumbone. While the non 3 draw notes still sound like a harp. Sometimes, I really like that tone, and sometimes it sticks out a bit. The 4 half step draw is similar.
-John
|
Greg Heumann
679 posts
Jul 20, 2010
6:02 PM
|
Getting good strong bends on the 3 hole takes a LOT of practice. I think you are developing new muscles and the ability to control them - takes time. It will come.
----------
/Greg
|
