First Bends
David Hi, Im getting close to submitting my LOA 2 and have been working on Bending. Now I have achieved what I think is success rather quickly but I want to make sure I am not developing a bad habit that I will later have to fix. On the C harmonica I can bend a half note on hole 2, full note on hole 3, with a half note on hole 4. Hole one is hit and miss. The harp Ninja is showing quite a clear note (green) but to my ears it sounds like a dying whale. I will continue to trust the Harp Ninja. All of these bends I can achieve at will, well almost every time. What worries me is what I am doing to achieve this. I seem to be using the side of my tongue combined with the tongue moving back. I can even feel the increased vibration when I do the bend on the tip side of the tongue. So I am tongue blocking but seem to be squeezing the air through the side of the tongue. Is this back to the drawing board or am I on the right track.
Many thanks for your quick repose. I started the exercise with the Bending study 1 and with your addittional specific comments reinforcing the lesson I will sontinue to experiment. I think Im there, if not entirely, Im close.
Great
Hello John. Because the elements in bending can't be seen, much experimenting is on order... everything you do helps to lead you down the path of mastery. Your "dying whale" is not uncommon... tone takes time to develop. Here are some specific tips for you...
- Your lips and front of tongue (which touches the harmonica) should be relaxed and subtle (you don't want to push onto the face of the harmonica)
- You don't want to feel like you're squeezing the opening on the right-hand side of your mouth (where the single note sounds)
- Where the bending action happens is in the middle and/or back of your tongue (depending on how high or low the pitch of the note you're bending is) by raising that part of the tongue, and employing the wave-like action I teach in Bending Study 1
To review... all bending is controlled with the tongue... no squeezing of your lips, mouth or pushing onto the face of the harmonica with your mouth or tongue is required.
Lastly... experiment, experiment and experiment some more... it will take time. Also, watch Bending Study 1 over and over as you progress, it will help tremendously.