New Harmonicas, "C" & "A"
Hellllloooooo:
I've just started my learning experience. First thing I bought two harps: C & A. I have just a few questions.
1. Is there anything I need to do to the brand new harps. I heard something about bending the reeds, is this a good idea or something I should forget?
2. I been studing for about two weeks now and I can't get a note to bend, brake, or crack so far. I have learn a couple of tune and have good note tones, but I do get losted switching from one note to another. Could it be that because these harps are so new that they won't bend until they are broken in or played for a while? Or could it just be me!
3. I sometimes get confused in the proper sequence of your lessons. It could be that I should slow down and try to take everything in to account. But I'm like most of you students, I supose, in that I want to go as fast as I can. I have a hard time knowing when to use the mp3 and how they relate to the lessons.
Just a little about me, I've just turned 72 years of age, I'm short, 5"2" and have a high pitched voice, and finally I'm a monerate dyslexic. Can anything be done for me or should I just keep buying blues music DVD and give up playing the harmonica?
Any help, advise or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I love the harmonica and your lessons and if there is anything I can do to learn this thing I'll be glade to put in the time and effort.
And finally if you can't answer these questions, please forwart them to someone who may be able to address them.
Thanks you
CMSgt, Ret. USAF, & Tennessee Air National Guardsman at Nashville TN, 37 yrs total service.
Hello Cantagre, and welcome to the wonderful world of harmonicas!
"Bending" is simply a word harmonica players use to describe the phenomenon of creating a desired note (pitch) from an instrument where that particular note was never intended. I know it sounds crazy, like a piano maker who built keyboards with only white keys—omitting the black keys. But alas ...
It was a wonderful accident in the late 1800’s, that a Hohner distributor sold the Richter tuned harmonica throughout the southern part of USA, and found there way into the hands/mouths of the African American population. They did not know that the ten-hole harmonica was not equipped with a complete set of pitches; they just played the darn thing.
In that process, with the shaping of their mouth, and the positioning of their tongue, the player “tuned” their mouth to conjure up the missing notes. For example; on the three draw reed (B) of a C harmonica—with the proper bending technique—the following notes can also be played on the three draw: Bb, A, and Ab.
This is the beginning of your harmonica journey, I recommend that you not be concerned with Harp Tech studies for now, but rather focus all your attention on David’s “how to play the harmonica” studies.
My favorite “out of the box” harmonicas for beginners and professional alike are the Hohner Special 20 and Rocket harmonicas.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya