Chapter 1, Bending Getting Started ~Diagram 1~ Hard & Soft Palate WU Esophagus (To Stomach) Throat, (To Lungs) WG Before we can go into the actual act of bending, we need to consider how the different parts of your mouth interact with each other. Diagram I shows a side view of your mouth. At the roof of your mouth is the hard palate and soft palate. The hard palate, even though it doesn't move, is the second most important part in your bending. When you drive a car you need two elements: the car, and the hard pavement you drive upon. The hard palate is just like that pavement. Just as pavement gives a ‘car a surface to maneuver upon, the hard palate gives your tongue a surface to maneuver upon. Learning Tip As you read through the next couple of pages, take a mental picture of all of the bending diagrams. Remember them well so you can work on your bends when you don't have this book at hand. To this day I still work on bending techniques to improve my playing. In my opinion clean, articulate, and well thought out bends are the trademarks of a good harmonica player. Step One In Your Bending ~Diagram 2~ When blowing or drawing, your tongue should be in a natural relaxed position like in diagram 2. By having your tongue in this relaxed position it allows your air stream to flow freely from your harmonica, through your mouth and down to your lungs. Remember not to allow air to leak through your nose. This will produce a whiny tone and you'll run out of breath quickly, especially during bending. Look at diagram I again at the nasal opening. This opening is the pathway to your entire nasal system. To stop the leakage through your nose, think as if you have a cold and you're irying to stop that annoying stream of phlegm from flowing down your throat, You'll find that the air passage that links your nose to your mouth has a controllable muscle. By tightening that muscle you can stop the air leakage and you'll find that you can play longer, cleaner, and stronger than before. If you're not sure you're leaking air through your nose, after learning how to bend, plug your nose with your fingers. If you were leaking air before, you'll feel and hear a large difference in your bend. 13