Easiest Note to Bend
Tue, 09/19/2023 - 06:10
Dave,
What is the "easiest" note to learn to bend first? I've been trying to bend the 6 draw and 3 draw on an A harmonica for a few weeks now and I feel like I have made zero progress - the most I can get is a slightly "dulled" tone, but the bending tool I've been using says it's still the same note. Particularly on the 6 draw, it feels like my tongue is already super close to the roof of my mouth and there's no room for it to go any further. The best I can do currently is a 3 draw bend while puckering, but when I tongue block it I can't get it at all. Should I be pulling more air through? Lower my jaw? I'm really at a loss and feeling discouraged.
Thanks,
Alex
Hello Alex.
Keep at it... it takes a lot of experimenting over time. You will get it, you just don't know when.
You don't want to pull more air through... it's not about volume/pressure, it's about tuning your mouth.
How do you tune your mouth to the bend that you're trying to achieve? Experiment, experiment, experiment. Since you can't see your tongue (nor mine in the lesson), it's all about experimenting.
Watch the into bending lesson again and focus on the She Key Koo. Though you're humping the tongue, it's not in the correct place to influence the read that you're playing. Experiment with those different points of the tongue along the lenghth of your mouth.
There is no eaiest bend... it's about which note moves first for you (luck). Try all the bends, each with the She, the Key, the Koo and see if you get any movement (pitch change, watching the program for movement). Once you find one that moves for you, it's about using more of the front of your tongue, further forward in your mouth for a higher reed, or more of the back of your tongue further back in your mouth for a lower reed.
Keep at it, you'll get it.
P.S., stay with tongue blocking, you don't want to use two emouchures while playing unless you have to.