Pointers for 1.5 draw bend while tongue blocking
Hello David,
I am really learning a lot from your lessons! However, I hope you can help with a technique question. Here goes...
I am fairly succesful with blow and draw bending both in tongue and puckering in all my current harp keys (C,A, D, Bb, and G). However, with the 1.5 step on the 3 draw I am having diffculty getting there with the tongue block bend (mostly on my Manji in key of D). I can go 1/2 to 1 to 1.5 steps easy on the pucker bend but get stuck on the 1 when tongue blocking the bend. If I really pull on it I can get it to go straight to the 1.5 step bend but it goes straight from no bend to 1.5 step. As I beleive beinding is not supposed to require extra force I dont want to start this habbit. I am trying to focus my main techique to be tongue blocking so I hope to improve this. Is this common? ANd Ideas?
Thanks for your time and knowledge.
JCT
Thank you. Great info.
Hey David,
I am on beginner level 2 now. just starting to do bending exercises with Harp Ninja. I find that if I focus on my tongue..I can rarely get the bend and am very inconsistent..hit or miss and lots of awful sounds. That being said if I focus on my throat..and the tone of my throat mouth...I am getting the bend on holes 3,4,6. Question is...is this bad habit? Focusing on throat/mouth tone?
Thx.
James
Hello James. If focusing on your throat is helpful to get your bends, go for it. Do not tense your throat though (the throat doesn't have anything to do with the bending process).
Hello JCT. I'm glad you're enjoying the lessons.
Yes, this is common, and from what you stated, it just seems like time and reps for it to come.
Yes, try to avoid too much tension (some is okay as you're learning).
Here are a couple experiments to try...
1) Hump the back of the tongue straight up (just past your molars, in the back).
2) Instead of focusing on the back of your tongue humping, hump the back, but focus on lowering the front and middle (of course the tip is on the harmonica, but just behind the tip and the middle) of your tongue. I find success with students on this, especially when they're playing a half step bend (3'), and they're lowering it a little to 3", and then 3'''. This is just a another way of looking at it (the back is still humped up, but by lowering the middle/front, the cavity is getting larger, and is thus tuned to a lower pitch... the reed will bend lower)
3) Open your throat a bit
4) Drop your jaw slightly (maybe even moving it forward)
Experiment, experiment, experiment... reps, reps, reps... it will come!