blues harmonica

How many Tips of the Day have we had on bending so far... I lost count... there's tons of them! Why is this so? It's one of our most challenging techniques performed on the harmonica. If you had the mistaken impression that harmonica is easy to play, then this technique will set your straight! Use the knowledge you've gained from understanding the physics of bending all the way to where the tongue is located in your mouth and what part of the tongue humps up for each pitch found in each hole for bending. continue reading...

Now how about bending on your harmonica... well, as you might have guessed, it's the same as whistling! Grab your harmonica of choice and try the "sh" on the 6 draw... "kee" on the 4 draw... and "ku" on the 2 draw... now use all of those in order on the 3 draw... if you have issues with controlling the 3 draw bend, this is the essential understanding needed to control it. TAKE YOUR TIME and give this some effort.

Whistling a low-pitched note (like 3, 2 and 1 draw bends) you'll notice your tongue in the back of your mouth, with the pitch being created near the very back of the tongue... it can also help for you to drop your jaw. Note that the tip and middle of the tongue is not humped up... it's down so that you can have a resonant tone chamber... always thing "big tone" by getting parts of the tongue down that don't have to be humped up for the whistling/bending process. Experiment with this!...

While whistling a medium-pitched note (like 4 draw) you'll notice your tongue in the middle of the mouth, with the pitch created near the middle-front of the tongue. Note that the tip as well as the back of the tongue is not humped up. Experiment with this... more tomorrow...

Whistling a high note you'll notice the tongue forward in your mouth, with the pitch being created near the very front of the tongue. Note that the body of the tongue is high and large in the mouth, filling up the mouth cavity so that the air volume (space, not loudness) is very small... this is what's needed to sound the high pitch. Experiment with this, we'll dig more into this tomorrow.

Let's spend some time looking at the similarities between whistling and bending. Whistle some low, mid and high notes... note the position of your tongue and which part of the tongue you're using for each.

Join Joe Filisko for his 18 Harmonica Insights with Tip #13 about Memorization.

Join Mark Hummel for his chromatic harmonica instrumental "Humble Bug." In this video he explains the songwriting process for this tune and where some of the licks came from.

Join me for an artist study of one of our four great post war Chicago blues fathers, Big Walter Horton. In this lesson we dig into what Big Walter Horton is really known for... his killer shuffle. All of the licks used in the study song "Shakey's Shuffle" come from Big Walter himself, providing you with great vocabulary for you to study and draw upon for your own improvising. You may record yourself playing to the provided jam track and submit it to me for review if you wish. This study is for advanced skill level players. You'll need an A Harmonicas for this study. continue reading...

Every now and again we get tape goo on our equipment from either labeling it (gear) or taping it to the floor (cables). Goof Off is a great product to remove sticky substances.