2 Hole Draw
Hi David, I have been playing the harmonica for a little while now and have always puckered, tongue blocking was in the too hard basket and I tended to give up trying to get the hang of it. With your lessons though I am giving it a serious go now, what I have found is that the 2&5 draw is just not happening. I get nothing out of the 2 draw, I know I am in the right place because 2&5 blow is fine. It has to be my technique but I am at a loss as to what I am doing wrong so therefore cannot begin to correct it. Any help would really be appreciated. Puckering I can draw and bend all the notes on the 2 hole.
Hi David, no I can't TB the 2 hole draw. Not even a squeak unfortunately. When I try the 2&5 draw the 5 is strong and clear but still nothing from the 2. My harp is not the problem, I go back to puckering the 2 draw and it is fine. I have read through many posts on the forums and watched many of the interview videos and I am guessing I need to get my embouchure for that 2 hole draw changed from what I am currently doing.
Your advice is great though, I didn't consider focussing on the 2 hole. To be honest I haven't been focused on any one particular hole while trying the splits, more trying to focus on where my tongue needs to be. Usually at this point I would give up, but not this time.
Thank you, Alan
Hi David, no I can't TB the 2 hole draw. Not even a squeak unfortunately. When I try the 2&5 draw the 5 is strong and clear but still nothing from the 2. My harp is not the problem, I go back to puckering the 2 draw and it is fine. I have read through many posts on the forums and watched many of the interview videos and I am guessing I need to get my embouchure for that 2 hole draw changed from what I am currently doing.
Your advice is great though, I didn't consider focussing on the 2 hole. To be honest I haven't been focused on any one particular hole while trying the splits, more trying to focus on where my tongue needs to be. Usually at this point I would give up, but not this time.
Thank you, Alan
Yes, you "need to get my embouchure for that 2 hole draw changed from what I am currently doing." Go to http://www.bluesharmonica.com/faq and watch the video titled, "My 2 draw and/or high-end notes sounds flat, airy or not at all!" Keep at it, you'll get it.
thank you
Dear Sir,
I am unable to understand the notation, could you please forward me the basic information about it. because being an Indian i am aware of basic notations of Hindustani/Karnatic music. and its hard to find some one who taught western notation at reasonable price in my city. And i am pretty much interested to learn this instrument, Please help me out.
Regards.
Dear Sir,
I am unable to understand the notation, could you please forward me the basic information about it. because being an Indian i am aware of basic notations of Hindustani/Karnatic music. and its hard to find some one who taught western notation at reasonable price in my city. And i am pretty much interested to learn this instrument, Please help me out.
Regards.
Hello shivayempati. In your first lesson on the site (Blues Harmonica Fundamentals) here http://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/blues_harmonica_fundamentals there is a PDF titled "Notation Key.pdf"
I currently have 2 harmonicas in A: an 1847 and a manji (I also have two in C, 1847 and a crossover). I'm having problems on 2 draw, but _only_ with the 1847 in A - it doesn't bend, but tends to be pretty breathy and takes a lot of air to make it a reasonable volume. I assumed it was just bad technique, but the fact that I haven't had any problems with any of the other harmonicas I own I'm a little confused now. I hope I can figure it out, because the 1847 is my favorite to play on :P
Hello chrisjpak. Yes, it sounds like your harp is poorly set up from the factory. You can either adjust it yourself (using the techniques taught in the harp-tech series on the site) or send it to a customizer to dial in for you.
Thanks for the quick response, David :). Cheers! (and happy holidays)
Happy holidays to you as well chrisjpak
I have had the same problem as Chrisjpak, I also have more than one A harp, but I tend to always go for my marine band deluxe. It was this one I was having the problem with my 2 & 5 hole draw. After reading chrisjpak's comment I tried using my suzuki harp and it is clear as a bell, so to speak.
That's great to know. Generally speaking, the set-up on the Crossover is very good (better than most on the market), and a better set-up harp is more sensitive to using good technique. I'm not saying that it's player error for sure, but you may want to go back to that harp every month or so, focusing on playing the 2 draw and seeing if it's better (making sure the middle and back of your tongue is lowered... and confirm this in the mirror... without the harp in your mouth of course). Just something to keep in mind.
Thanks David, would you say that the crossover is now one of the best marine bands on the market? If so maybe it is time to trade in the deluxe and give the crossover a go.
Yes, I do. The Deluxe is very good as well, though I find the Crossover's just a tad more consistent in regards to playability out of the box.
Thanks David
Hello alpur. From your description I'm going to assume that you can TB your 2 by itself. If this is the case, then play the 2 a couple of times, really focusing on where your tongue is (I'm mostly speaking of the middle and back of your tongue) while doing this. Then play your 2&5 and make sure your tongue location is the same... this should fix this with some practice.
It's the same principle of bending the 2&5, your embouchure is focused on the 2 bending, not the 5, so the technique is to focus on the 2 bending embouchure. With this in mind, if the 2 is not sounding correctly, then you focus on the embouchure issues that will cause the 2 to stall (again, mostly having the middle and/or back raised... this is the common issue).