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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
technique used on 6 bend
technique used on 6 bend
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LeoT
1 post
Jan 30, 2011
1:03 PM
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Hey,
I recently started playing harmonica and have been working on bending for the past few days.
I can't manage to bend the 3 and 4 holes to save my life, by I can decently bend 1, 2 and 6.
The thing that bothers me is this - when I want to bend the 1 or 2 hole, I drop my jaw and drop my tongue back to enlarge my mouth cavity, but when I want to bend the 6 I do the exact opposite!
To get an A on the 6 draw I have to draw air with my tongue flat down, and when I want to bend it to Ab, I roll my tongue up against the top of my mouth and bring it forward.
Should it be this way?
Or should the general way in which you change the shape of your mouth and position of your tongue be similar for bending all the notes?
Last Edited by on Jan 30, 2011 1:03 PM
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shanester
339 posts
Jan 30, 2011
1:40 PM
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Ideally your embouchure should be similar for all notes, but oral cavity smaller as you go up.
Your mouth cavity size resonates the proper pitch.
It is typical to use the tip of the tongue in early bending, but ultimately you should strive to control the bend from back in your throat for strongest tone, practice makes perfect.
You will ultimately develop a fine muscle control from the back of the throat and further back on the tongue where it connects to control all bends.
Keep playing, you'll get it!
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Shane
1shanester
"Keep it coming now, keep it coming now,
Don't stop it no don't stop it no no don't stop it no don't stop it no no..."
- KC and the Sunshine Band
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shanester
340 posts
Jan 30, 2011
1:42 PM
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Getting control back in your throat will actually provide the necessary step to develop diaphragm and throat vibrato...
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Shane
1shanester
"Keep it coming now, keep it coming now,
Don't stop it no don't stop it no no don't stop it no don't stop it no no..."
- KC and the Sunshine Band
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Greystonesman
44 posts
Jan 30, 2011
1:52 PM
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Hi LeoT, I'm "advanced" beginner and loving the trip up the learning curve. It amazes me that we seem to get the bends in different ways and in different orders. I'm doing the draw bends ok now, but there is still loads of room for improvement. The hardest draw bend for me was the 2 hole. I could "feel" it, but I couldn't ear it. I even thought I must be a little tone deaf to this note. I got myself a metronome/tuner, both to help me keep time and to "prove" my bends. It's given me confidence that I'm learning and picking up all the little skillsets that we need as harp players.
Welcome to the forums. You will get loads of priceless tips and words of wisdom in here.
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For sure, an old dog can learn new tricks
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LeoT
2 posts
Jan 30, 2011
2:47 PM
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Thanks for the quick replies guys!
Shanester, you mentioned "cheating" using the tip of the tongue to bend, and now I notice this is kind of the way I manged to get my 6 draw to bend (i can even bend 8 and 9 blow very easily using this technique).
Greystonesman, I'm using a tuner on my computer that uses the mic to see how my bends are coming along, and it really is great to see how on the 2 draw I go from G to F# to F.
It's just weird how I get almost zero response when I try to bend the 3 and 4 draw.. I don't get it. Sometimes my attempts even bring the note like an eighth of a note higher.
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