LAST EDITED ON Jul-28-04 AT 00:29 AM (PST)
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First time posterI've been practicing the harmonica for probably 2 months now. I do a good job at hitting single notes. I've started to practice bending more but as it seems common am having a little trouble.
Now I have hit 4d-b just not consistently. My question is how much of a role should your tongue play in bending. When I'm fooling around trying to get the bend I find its my tongue that's moving alot changing the tone. Is this correct? Are there multiple tecniques? Any help would be alot of help. Thanks.
Joe
Joe,There is no right answer for learning how to bend -- different tricks work for different people. But, I have found after teaching folks to bend one-on-one for many years that the more you think about what your tongue is doing, the further most people get from bending.
The real key is to do your best, by listening to sound examples of what the bend should and shouldn't sound like, to get the sound of bending in your head to the extent that you can whistle or sing the bending sound. Then, you MUST change the angle of the airflow for bending to occur. If you feel your tongue does something specific for this to happen, fine. If not, make sure you stay relaxed, get the sound in your head, change the angle of airflow, and give it some time. Even for my private students with weekly lessons and direct feedback, it can take weeks or longer for this "bending thang" to click. Be patient. The only people ultimately that learn to bend are the ones that stay with it long enough for it to happen.
Oh yes, make sure you are virtually 100% confident with your single notes and not using Tongue Blocking or the U-blocking method to attain them. Good quality single notes make it much, much easier to learn to bend.
Correct and Incorrent Bending Examples-
http://www.harmonicalessons.com/members/bending.php
Welcome to the forums,
Dave
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