Bending ( sorry )
Hi there David.
I've asked before about bendingtechniques but I'd like to ask some more questions. I understand that it must be frustrating for you to answer the same questions by students over and over again, but, well, here it goes :
I'm practising harmonica every day for atleast 2 hours. All the techniques, like tongeublocking, flutters, slaps, vibrato / tremelo etc are going good and I am rapidly getting better with all these techniques. All your explainations about these techniques are great! Now comes the frustrating part : bending. ( I'm only using TB embouchure )
Well, I can bend ( I posted some soundsamples, a while back, of me doing 2 draw bends ) and I can get the right pitches but I don't like the tone I'm getting on the deepest 2 draw bend. There's to much of an OOOO sound. ( it's difficult to explain exactly what I mean )
I've gone through your videos with bending instructions several times. I've searched the forum where other players ask about bending. I've gone through YT clips etc. Now, am I understanding it correctly that you say that bending only happens by changing the shape of the mouth cavity with raising the tongue up in several stages for different bends?
( I read a couple of times that you say that the throat is not involved in bending.)
If so, then how come that if I play a drawnote on a 1,2,3,4 or 5 hole, and only raise the tongue up , without putting some pressure on with my throat, the note does not bend but only changes in tone by getting thinner?
I can't seem to bend notes with only humping up my tongue? It's frustrating because I hear and read all the time that you only hump up your tongue to get bends and I really don't understand what it is I'm doing wrong.
. If other students can help answer my question then please chime in.
Thanks, Jan.
I'm gonna keep trying! Btw, I can't find Joe Filiskos new video? ( rules )
Cool. Just keep experimenting. Joe's new video is 5th from the bottom on his page.
Dave, another question. When I am playing a bend note. I am supposed to keep my throat as wide open as possible? ( that is after articulating with the K sound. just like when playing unbend notes )
Also, when bending down the 1 hole draw of my A harp ( I play the 1 hole puckered ) my tongue does not go up but it goes down making my mouth cavity bigger. Is this correct?
Yes, throat stays open for tone production... big throat and mouth cavity = big tone. When bending your 1, the sensation will be more just moving the tongue directly back. As the tongue moves back it will reach the gum-line, thus finding the constriction spot. This is a place to strait, then experiment.
"that bending only happens by changing the shape of the mouth cavity with raising the tongue up in several stages for different bends?"
That's correct.
"If so, then how come that if I play a drawnote on a 1,2,3,4 or 5 hole, and only raise the tongue up , without putting some pressure on with my throat, the note does not bend but only changes in tone by getting thinner? I can't seem to bend notes with only humping up my tongue? It's frustrating because I hear and read all the time that you only hump up your tongue to get bends and I really don't understand what it is I'm doing wrong."
There lies the challenge of bending on the harmonica. We understand the science of bending, but to make it happen requires a lot of experimentation, practice and patience. The challenge is in not being to see/confirm your tongue location. In most cases the student is not humping the tongue high enough... so experiment with that. The videos and printed material help... having an instructor in front of you helps... but in the end it all gets down to experimentation... we're all blind. Keep at it, it will happen... we just don't know when.