Bending on a Low C harmonica
Hi Winslow,
I am a beginner, but I have made good progress with draw bending on the C and A harmonicas. I am also a bass player and I love the sound of a low harmonica. I recently got a low C, but I can only bend the 6 draw. No success on the other holes. Any advice?
Thank you,
James
Thank you! I'll check those out!
In addition to waht Joe might have to say, let me relate an experience I had some years ago.
I had low C harps in the Hohner 12-hole 364 and 14-hole 365 models. I could bend 3, 4, 5, and 6, but not 2. I just figured that was off the edge of the map.
Until Steve Baker came to visit, and played that Draw 2 bend on a Low C. A week later, I could do it, too. Hearing it done can create an example of the possible that can power your own skill development.
The other advice is, of course, that to tune your mouth to that lower note, you need to find a way to make a bigger tuned chamber in your oral cavity. This can mean lowering your jaw, moving the K-spot where you constrict the airflow further back, and maybe getting a little outside your physical comfort zone. One thing I suspect but can't confirm is that bending may involve developing new strength in the tongue muscles. I find that if I don't maintain those really low bends with practice, I start to lose them and have to work them up again.
James: Winslow will, as usual, have an excellent answer. In the meantime, have you reviewed Joe Filisko's two videos on low-tuned harps, here at https://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/playing_low_tuned_harps ? I'm a sort of perpetual beginner, and it took a while to get the feel for bends on my Low F. On my Low C anything lower than the three half steps on hole 3 are a bear, because they really do require the player to create a huge sound chamber with his or her mouth, throat and everything else. At some point, some of us just don't have big enough anatomy!