Posted by David on July 17, 2002 at 14:14:49:
In Reply to: Bending and Blues notes posted by Alesea on July 17, 2002 at 09:30:39:
: Um.... Hi i am a kind of novice at playing the harmonica, but am also kind of good. So here is my questions to all of you; I have read everything on how to bend and also all of the entries on the FAQ sections but i still dont understand how to bend notes. So if anyone has any tips or anything, it would be helpful. Next order of business, i am having trouble playing the notes 1, and 2. I e-mail harmonicalessons.com and i just got an auto response telling me to look in the FAQ section, which i did. so can anyone please explain to me how to play those two notes?
: :In your message you didn't mention whether or not you had checked out the "Bending" section of this site. If not click on Bending in the message board intro. One thing you can try is moving your tongue closer and farther from the harp and/or moving your jaw to different positions as you draw on a note. Make large movements, make small movements, play with it. You will undoubtedly hear changes in tone. Some will be the result of changing the shape of the resonance chamber and some will be bends (or at least the beginning of bends. Don't get discouraged, for some bending comes slowly, for others it seems to click on like a light. Don't forget that you can make very good music w/ single notes and chords until you get bending down. As for your trouble w/ 1 and 2, it's probably breath related. These lower notes take more air movement to sound, especially in the lower keys (G , A, B, Bb). Always try to breathe from your belly, not your upper chest or mouth. Many people take up harp playing thinking, as I did, "10 holes, suck blow, learn to play in a few days". The reality is, like any instrument, it takes a long time and a lot of practice to attain mastery,but there's no reason you can't have a lot of fun along the way.