Beginning Bender
Hello fellow harpers..
I'm new to playing harmonica, only two weeks. I've been making great progress through practicing everyday. I just wanted to play around with the bending techniques I've heard and like so much so I've been practicing. I can bend nearly every hole, not skillfully, though I'm sure practice will improve this. I have a question about this. When I started I bought a hohner bluesband for $8, just to make sure I wanted to stick with it, now I know I do like it and want to continue I've bought a special 20 pro-pack that comes with 3 keys, however, when bending on the bluesband harp I notice that several of the bends end up causing a very high pitched screech. Is this a problem I should attribute to the bluesband or should it be attributed to lack of skill when bending. I guess I'm wondering if I'm trying to bend the notes too far. I've heard that bluesband's are not very good harmonicas and was wondering if better harps can be bent too far and cause this screeching sound.
Thanks
J
The screeching sound is from tuning your mouth to a note the reed can't bend to. Some harmonicas are more prone to this than others.
Focus on bending on the Special 20s. Bluesbands can be OK or bad - lack of quality control is what makes them inexpensive.
To get rid of the screeching sound, try a couple of things:
1) Inhale from below your ribcage and not from your mouth. Using the entire air column formed by your breathing will improve your tone, your volume, and your bends.
2) If you're not tongue blocking, get the tip of your tongue away from your lips, whether you're bending or not. Try letting it rest on the floor of your mouth while you hump up the mid-to-back area of your tongue to activate bends.
Also, remember that the the high draw notes in Holes 7 thru 10 do not bend. If you try to bend them, you're likely to get that screeching sound.