Low volume bending
Mon, 10/19/2020 - 23:57
Hi David,
I am working on study songs "Barret Line" and "Blues Creeping over me" and I was trying to keep a low overall volume. I manage to play regular notes, tremolos and slaps with low volume, though as soon as I try to bend, I cannot produce any sound and I need to inspire harder -- thus with high volume -- to get the (bent) note to play.
Is it possible to bend notes with low volume or is there a "strenght" in the airflow needed to produce the sound? Thanks.
Hello WilliamCapp. Great question.
No, bending does not require strength in the airflow (louder playing) to produce the sound, but you can produce a bend with less-than-perfect technique by playing louder. In other words, it requires more precise bending skills to play softer.
Having a student play softer is one of the main tools we teachers use to dial in a student's bending skill, so it's time well-spent for you to practice it.
Most likely you're tongue is not humped up enough... this is the most common fix.
The key is to experiment with tongue placement while NOT introducing more tension into your bending process.
Tension, and loud playing, are ways to make up for poor tongue placement... the focus is now to get that tongue placement dialed in so that less air, and less tension, is needed. It's all about experimenting.
I also recommend your review Bending Study 1 often... it will help.
P.S., a poorly set up harmonica also requires louder playing to bend. If you're using a $5 harmonica, or a respected model of harmonica that's very old, you'll want to look into getting a better/newer harmonica. If you want to treat yourself, then look into getting a custom harmonica (https://hotrodharmonicas.com for example), they bend at very low levels.