Bending
Hello David,
As you know i just started on Level 3 in the LOA program.
I'm able to get the bends on all of the holes, however the tonal quality leaves a lot to be desired. In addition, on hole 3, I'm having difficulty getting past the whole bend to the whole and a half. I'm also finding that in order to achieve the bending, I'm having to use more "pressure" in my mouth cavity in addition to the tonguing techniques. I was under the impression that the same breath quality without applying pressure would effect the bends. Is this normal?
I realize with practice things will get better, but this is frustrating to me as I've picked up the other techniques so much quicker than this. Any additional tips you can offer regarding the tone quality, ability to slide rather than bump to the bends and commenting on the added pressure needed to effect the bends.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions and help.
Brett Mallard
Thank you so much David.
Sure, my pleasure. I wish I could have given you more advice than you're on the right track, but you are.
One thing Im coming to learn is that bending is also dependent on the deveopment of the tongue muscle itself. As my tongue is getting more conditioned to the move the bend is easier to get. I agree wiht the author, tone on the 2 draw bend down to F is very poor. That is the hardest for me. But continual progress is being made.
Hi David,
Sorry for using up your time but I have only just started playing the harmonica and am wondering when or how to know if I am required to play a song with a single note or just blow or draw without using my tounge.
Thanks heaps,
Ned
Hi David,
Sorry for using up your time but I have only just started playing the harmonica and am wondering when or how to know if I am required to play a song with a single note or just blow or draw without using my tounge.
Thanks heaps,
Ned
That's right gwknopp... focused practice over time will get the job done.
Hello Ned. No sorry Ned, this is what you pay me for. You will always use your tongue, tongue blocking is your primary embouchure. Your first study song will come from Tongue Block Study 1, and is found here https://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/tongue_blocking_1
Thanks Mr Barrett, am loving the lessons
Sure! Glad to hear it.
hello !
First thank you for this cool website,
Now I am studing to bend, you'are right : harpninja is very usefull,
but something is stange, i am starting to success the bend for every hole EXCEPT hole 5 !!!
the bend doesn't stard AT ALL : I can hear this and see this with harpninja
my questions :
- can it comes from my a harmonica ?
- do I have to continue to try OR we don't care hole 5 is not important because if you blow you get the note of the 5 draw bend ! ?
thank you
Hello jean-baptiste. The 5 draw bend is not used a lot, but we do use it, so it's a good idea to practice it. The 5 draw bend does not bend a half step, it is not the same pitch as your 5+... it's close to it, but it doesn't go that far (reference Music Theory Study 1). The key to the 5 draw bend is in working the 6 draw bend. If your 6 draw bend is good, then hump your tongue just slightly further back (like an eighth of an inch further back). The focus is on the front and middle of your tongue. Experiment, you will get it!
P.S., the 6 draw on the Bb harmonica is G and the 5 draw on the D harmonica is G... same note, same bend. Work your 6 draw bend on your Bb harmonica and you'll have your 5 draw bend on the D.
This is a good start. With practice and time you should be able to get down to where the blow reed lights up.
thank you
How the heck did you capture that screen shot so quickly? LOL I've tried to take screen shots of what I'm doing on Ninja and can't get my hand there fast enough before the pitch changes or I run out of breath. hahaha
hello, firt play and record : it does record both the sound and what you see on the sreen
then hear what you did and where you did well, and then with your free hands make the capture !;)
hi I have learned how to bend previously by lip blocking and feel very fluid with them and a lack of tension. I am starting to get my bends tongue blocking now after some trial and error. Is it normal for the tongue blocking bend to feel a little more locked in with suction? I'm asking because I want to make sure my technique is ok and it's just some getting used to like it was when I Learned lip blocking. Currently it feels slow.
I am enjoying the course and excited to get fully into tongue blocking. I find it much easier to relax and play unbent notes with much less tension in my face.
Hello bltaylor85.
Can you elaborate what you mean by, "locked in with suction?"
I can say that bending in a new embouchure takes quite a bit of time, so just hang in there, you'll get more comfortable with reps and time. It took me six months to have it not feel awkward and a year until I felt that my TB bending was as good as my pucker bending. Since then, I use all TB.
P.S., if you haven't already done so, check out Bending Study 1, it's all done in a TB. It's good to review that lesson often, more insights come as your skills progress.
Keep at it, you'll get it.
Thanks for the quick reply!
I anticipated it would take some time. For locking in, I'm referring to that it feels harder to transition out of the bend than lip blocking. Almost like my tongue position is locked in by the suction change in my mouth, since Less space between roof and tongue. For lip blocking I feel like the cavity is larger in my mouth.
Thanks for the clarification. You should not feel higher suction with TB bending, nor less space between the roof and your tongue (physics require that they're the same... we're tuning the mouth cavity, and the harmonica doesn't care which embouchure you use). Most likely you're using too much tension with your tongue as you're bending. With that said, it's hard to relax when you're trying to develop a new skill, so most likely this will go away with time (and focused thought of, "I'm using too much tension right now, and I don't need to use tension to bend, just tune my mouth.").
That makes sense! I appreciate your help and will keep that in mind as it becomes more subconscious!
Hello Brett.
Don't worry about the tonal quality right now... that will come over time (years for some challenging bends). Right now it's about the pitch, then pitch consistently (being able to hit that pitch reliably) and then tone over time.
Don't try for the 3''' (minor third bend... whole plus a half), we don't have a use for it right now (it's extremely rare in 2nd Position)... we'll dig into this in your advanced studies. This is why you'll not see it in any of the study songs.
You are correct, bending doesn't require more muscle tension, but you're new to the technique, so this is all part of the journey. Each practice try to relax more and more.
The great news is that you're on the right track. I'm glad you're thinking of these things, but know that it's not you, it's part of the process of learning to bend on the harmonica.