4 hole draw producing weak or no note
David,
I'm on Levels of Achievement 1. I have been a guitarist for 20 yrs but harmonica is brand new to me. I have been working on my single notes using tongue blocking. Sometimes I get a strong hole 4 note but when I draw on that same hole I get nothing but air. No note. What might I be doing wrong?
I am experiencing the same thing joshhornguitar.
4 blow 5 blow good 4 draw 5 draw not so good.
Sounds like we need to adjust our embrochure.
Slight smile and slight yawn.
Being a neophyte is tough but that's okay!
You got it dwwood, just remember to use a relaxed and open embouchure. And... patience... it takes a couple of months for all players of wind instrument to dial in their embouchure.
Thanks, to you both, for the good input. It has improved since I posted this.
1,2, and 3 draw are quite pesky however. I'm working on chorus 2 of Walk With Me. Very tricky indeed. I am trying to keep everything nice and open as I draw, but I find it hard to lower the back of my tongue sufficiently while mantinaing the front of my tongue's proper position over the harmonica holes. Hope that makes sense. In other words, if I concentrate on keeping the back of my tongue down, then I can't cover the holes I need to cover properly. Is this just a muscle thing that I have to work up to?
You'll get it, it will just take time. Playing single notes well on any instrument takes a number of months to be consistent. Your tongue will become more ambidextrous over time. A slight yawn works great.
Welcome to the harp joshhorneguitar. If you're relaxed... when you blow, everything in your embouchure moves away, opening up for a large embouchure that delivers air into the harmonica well. When you draw, things want collapse inwards, squeezing the hole (at the lips and more importantly, the tongue at the middle/back... like a valve wanting to suck shut). When drawing, try to use a slight yawn in your embouchure and slight smile. These two movements together will ensure that everything remains open.
P.S., if you've been practicing your 4+ for a while, spit can build up on the draw reed... so sometimes it's just spit. Spit happens :-)