Harmonica Techniques

Step Two In Your Bending

gram 3~ Diagram 3 shows what your tongue should look
like in the bent position. Notice that the air
scted Aj assage is constricted between your tongue and
Constricted Air Passage the back of the roof of your mouth, When first
trying to bend say the syllables E- O in your
deepest voice possible without the harmonica
When pronouncingthe E,the front ofyour tongue
is in the natural position and the back of your
tongue is touching the bottomof your upper
g theletter E is what gets your
tongue in the right position to bend. When
pronouncing the O, your jaw drops and your
tongue is forced to the back of your mouth
creating a constricted air passage. Center your
lips on the 4 draw and make sure that you're only
sounding the 4 draw throughout your bend. If
youcatch just a little bit of a neighboring hole
‘while trying to bend,i's enough to stop you from
making a full bend. As you draw into the fourth
hole saythesyllables E = ©. Rememberto think
tight and not to let any airleak through the sides of
your tongue. You want to get your full air stream
Z, through the constricted air cavity and by doing so
WZ youshould be able to feel the cold air stream
through the top centerof your mouth

Extra Help
If you were ableto bend right after youread that, you are truly one ofthe gifted few. Somepeopleget
lucky and find the right positioningin their mouth right away and are able to bend. For most people it
takes a good week or so of experimenting. Keeptrying! If the syllables E - O don't work for you,try the
word BOY. Say BOYa couple of timesbefore picking up your harmonicato get used to the positioning
of your tongue. Now takethe B off to getthesyllable OY. If you can only hear a slight bend,think
tighter and morerigid in your embouchure. If you can'ttellif you're getting a bend or not, tryplaying the
corresponding bent note on a pianoor guitar using your bend chart. Belowis the bend chart to remind
you what bends on the harmonica are available to you.

Bend Chart
Whole Step Bend (*) —+[ Bb
Half Step Bends ()——> a 2 z
c
=
D
Db o i 3 c | (’) Half Step Bends
F A [-—— (”) Whole Step Bends
Ab |}-—(")Step and One Half Bend

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