Posted Thu, 03/21/2013 - 08:13 by David Barrett Admin
Most likely you noticed a slight hesitation for the start of your bent notes when listening to your recording, causing you to play the bends slightly out of time... late. Now practice the scale and play your bends a split second early, counteracting the time it takes to set up for the bending process. The better you get, the less of an adjustment is needed, but this will help your playing to stay in time. Record yourself and listen to how much of an adjustment is needed. Recording is the key.
Posted Wed, 03/20/2013 - 09:52 by David Barrett Admin
To bend a note on the harmonica requires that your tongue is in place to tune your mouth the desired pitch. Play and record the basic C Major Scale 1+ 1 2+ 2" 2 3" 3 4+ 3 3" 2 2" 2+ 1 1+... do this and listen to it. What do you notice for the timing of the bent notes... or more specifically what do you have to do to play them in time?
Posted Fri, 02/22/2013 - 07:56 by David Barrett Admin
I'm off to Stanford to give a talk, as part of their free-reed instrument mini-class, on how bending works and its application to the blues. This all started with a joint MRI study on how bending works on the harmonica. We've been working on this for six months and as soon as the paper is published in the ASA Journal (Acoustic Society of America) I'll start sharing our findings... most cool of all, images of the bending process within the mouth, in multiple plains. continue reading...
Posted Fri, 01/18/2013 - 10:15 by David Barrett Admin
"Again, the 3 draw is it" states Kim Wilson in his interview. Control, and use of the 3 draw is one of the most common indicators of a highly-skilled harmonica player. Think of the use of the 3 draw in the list below...
The "3 Draw Rule" in 2nd Position
I7 = 3 (or slightly bend, at the quartertone, for bluesy effect... or 3' if you're in minor)
IV7 = 3'
V7 = 3"