2 and 3 hole bends
Hi David,
I've been practicing trying to bend for some time now, and I really can't bend holes 2 and 3 on any harmonica. I mean I can change the pitch if I struggle and it sounds horrible and not at all like a musical note. I don't know how else to approach it is there any more material on this besides Bending Study 1 that I can look at? Holes 4, 5, 6, and 1 i can bend but 1 because i'm puckering it.
Thanks a lot,
Mercedes
As an intermediate student of David's Id amplify that I found no 'method' to learn bending. To me it is like learning whistle. No one can tell you how. I can tell you that it is essential that you use Harp Ninja as a feedback mechanism. You can also use a tuner, but its not quite as easy. Relax and think about the sound more than the tongue. How do I get that sound to change with my mouth? I think its also helpful to have a keyboard app on a tablet or smart phone so you can hear the sound you want to produce.
Once you get the basics you're not done. You have to be able to hit those bends and make them sound as good as if the harp acctually had those notes.
So long as we never quit, we are never beaten. Keep going.
Gary K
That's very true. I could bend most of the draw note quite comfortably but I just can't quite get the 3 draw whloe step bend as it'' always go a semitone up. Say on a C harp I would go from the half step bend (Bb) stright to (Ab). Do you think I just need to keep working on the accracy with the help of a tuner? Thanks!
Thank you all this advice is really very helpfull, I'll keep at it! I find it to be the most challenging thing so far, and quite frustrating. Thanks!
I can add that I've been studying for over 2 years now and have NOT mastered bending the 3 draw whole step bend yet. I can get there, but lose it very quickly. I also need to say that I have been avoiding practice time on this as it is very frustrating and for awhile I thought I would just sluff through any songs with a 3 whole bend. But I have decided to commit to some concentrated practice on bending and specifically all 3 bends on the 3 draw. Lately, I've found that if I get somewhere around the correct note (A) then I start concentrating on where my tongue is and what happens when I move it just a little forward, backward or hump higher, etc. It's produced some interesting sounds but I think the key is one day I'm going to happen upon everything being just right and then I'll practice hard on remembering my embrouchure, tongue postion, etc and finally one of these days I won't dread the 3" bend in Davids music! Also highly recommend practicing with Harp Ninja.
Hello Mercedes. Bending is challenging. The universal thing you can count on about bending, is that it takes way longer to develop than you think it should. There are no more lessons on bending besides lesson 1, but I can give you direction.
The focus for holes 2 and 3 is to hump up more of the middle-back (3 draw) and back (2 draw) of your tongue for those bends. You should feel your tongue hump up around your molars, the back two, for hole 3. For hole 2 you'll feel your tongue more near the last molar, but you'll barely (if it all) feel that molar (the tongue is not humped as high for hole 2).
It would be smart to try this without the harmonica, in front of a mirror. Visually confirm that your tongue is humping up far enough to the roof of the mouth, and far enough back. You can place the front of your tongue behind the front of your lower set of teeth as an analog of the harmonica.
Lastly, keep experimenting... the 3 is slightly further back than the 4 and the 2 is slightly forward of your 1. Keep it up, you will get, you just don't know when.