> Magic Dave, Please help me!!

> I am trying to learn blues harp but have no idea how to bend a note. I
> got a video on the subject in which the guy said you use air pressure to
> bend a note. That could mean anything, of course, but I have decided that
> it means increasing air pressure. I have been trying that with minimal
> success on the lower notes, but not even getting a semitone down. Can you
> give me better explanation of how it's done, or do I just need to
> keep practising??????

Hi Gerry,

Thanks for writing.

[Note: Some folks would maintain that what I am about to set down is
unnecessary over-intellectualization of a what is usually learned over
time by trial and error. So be it. Most players do learn on their own
and eventually become proficient at bending. However, I believe that
following my suggestions will drastically shortcut the time it takes to
learn to bend proficiently. I have succuessfully used this approach to
teach students who have never had an instrument in their mouths to bend
the 3rd hole down its full range (the longest throw of any of the bends,
at 3 semitones) in one hour.

Simply put, bending is process of using your oral structures to change
the shape of your airstream, which results in a change in the pitch of
the vibrating reeds.

I don't know what the video means by "air pressure" but it is not
necessary to blow or draw harder to bend a note. It is a matter of the
using the proper technique.

To illustrate: Imagine a tree branch that is leaning into a stream of
water. The branch moves back and forth in response to the passing water.
The frequency at which the branch moves does not change if more or less
water is forced through stream, after a rainstorm or during a drought,
for example. However, if the stream is partially dammed immediately
above or below the branch, the frequency of movement will decrease.

Similarly, blowing or drawing harder is not necessary for proper note
bending. It does not, in and of itself, alter the frequency (pitch) of
the reeds as they move back and forth in the air stream. However, if the
air stream is dammed after the reed (when drawing) or before the reed
(when blowing), by contricting the oral structures, the pitch of the
reeds will change.

So, how do we go about creating the constriction in the air flow?
Well, I think that it is important to approach this in a step-by-step
logical fashion to make the fastest progress.

First, there are many places in the oral cavity where the constriction
can take place and it important to learn to control them, first in
isolation, then in concerted fashion. Bending can be accomplished by
constricting in the throat (in two places), in the cavity of the mouth
(in 2 places) and at the lips.

As an aside, I also feel that it is important to learn how to tongue
block. Regardless of whether or not you intend to use tongue-blocking
predominantly in your playing, you will need to know how to do this in
order to accomplish many of the effects central to traditional harmonica
playing, and especially blues music. There are many books that teach
this, but make sure that your primary position is with two holes blocked
and playing out the right side of the mouth for single notes and out
both sides for octaves and other intervals more than a 4th. Be sure to
practice single note playing equally out each side in the beginning to
develop strength and symmetry in your embouchre. And continue to
practice single notes purse lipped, if you plan to continue using this
technique.

I could be wrong, but I believe that _most_ of the great masters have
both tongue-blocked and purse-lipped. (I apologize to any of the players
mentioned here if my assessment of their approach to tongue-blocking is
inaccurate.) James Cotton, Little Walter, Rice Miller mostly
tongue-blocked but used purse lipping to play single notes at times.
Paul Butterfield, Magic Dick Charlie Musselwhite have predominantly
lipped. Kim Wilson seems to lip holes 1-3 (except when he wants to apply
a tongue-block technique to these holes) and to tongue-block from holes
4 and up. Big Walter tongue-blocked most everything. Jerry Portnoy and
many of the above-mentioned players lip the high blow notes when playing
in first position, regardless of the technique used otherwise. (Jerry
tongue-blocks everything else.) I, myself tongue-block everything. I
have found that many articulations were more difficult to learn with the
tongue on the harp, especially tongue rolling articulations. But I have
learned to do them with the tongue on the harp.

Regardless of the approach chosen, I think that it is helpful to
strengthen the muscles that hold the tongue-block embouchre, right from the
beginning. A good exercise for this is to squeeze the muscles at the
corners of the mouth. If you do this for 15 minutes a day for 30 days,
you will quickly develop the muscle tone in the facial structures to
support all of the pressure that will be applied (especially from blow
bending) from even advanced playing.

The following applies to draw bending only. Blow bending uses different
techniques.

The easiest way to bend most of the notes (requires the least exertion)
is to constrict at the top of the throat (above the adams apple and
below the area where the letter "k" is formed). Many players, in the
beginning, attempt bending in the mouth by pushing the tongue up against
the palate. While this is a useful technique, if it is used
predominantly or without an understanding of throat bending, it will
lead to a great deal of strain and in bending and a long hard road to
proficiency.

There are many ways to visualize throat bending. You can think of
constricting at the top of the throat, much as you would if you were
panting like a dog or fogging up your glasses. Or maybe if you were
making a friction in your breathing like the sound of Darth Vadar. In
any event, if you do it correctly and draw through hole 3 on a "C" or an
"A" harp, then the note should easily drop the full 3 semitones.
Sometimes you will hear the note cut out first. This means that you are
using the right approach. When the throat is put in the right position,
the note will just change from the unbent note to the full bent note,
without any notes in between. It should almost sound like you have
switched holes or directions. It should be that pronounced. If you are
getting some slight bending (even up to 2 semitones) then you are most
likely, either mouth bending or combining mouth bending with throat
bending. And you are probably having to exert a great deal of effort.
When done correctly, it should be effortless. Many of my students start
bending so easily that they find that they get confused between the bent
and unbent notes with no difference in effort, proving that it is just
the position and placement of the muscles of the throat and not physical
strength that is responsible for success.

The same holds for hole 2 draw on the "A" and "C" (only now it is 2
semitones).

I would suggest practicing bending holes 1-3 draw on a "C" harp and 1-4
draw bending on an "A" harp using only the throat. Avoid practicing
bending the higher holes (up through hole 6) for now, as they are
usually more easily facilitated by either mouth bending or a combination
of throat and mouth bending. Also avoid practicing bending on other
harps for now. In this way, you will learn to isolate the upper throat
procedure before learning other approaches or combinations of
approaches.

Remember, the note should bend down the full throw of the hole without
anything in between. This is not as clear on hole 2 and even less clear
on hole 1. That is why most people find it easier to isloate a throat
bend on hole 3, although I have some students who get it first on hole
2. And it should be without exertion.

Another sign that you are doing it correctly is that your adams apple
should moveup when you bend.

This is the most important element of successful bending for the rest of
your career, and it will have big impact on your ability to develp a
good throat vibrato.

Well I have probably left out something, but we can cover it another
time.

Please feel free to write back with questions or comments. I will be
happy to help you explore other techniques for bending (both draw and
blow), as well as other aspects of harp playing in the future.

All the best.

Magic Dave

[Addendum to the response:

To review: A "pure" throat bend provides for a full-throw (draw) bend
without any exertion whatsoever. The structure of the throat is changed to
effortlessly support the bend. It is the position and shape of the muscles
of the throat and not physical strength that is responsible for this type
of bend.

Once you have consistently isolated the pure throat bend, it is time
to learn to what I refer to as mouth bending. With this technique, you slowly
move the middle and back of the tongue in the mouth toward the palate.
You may wish to syllabilize "oo-ee." Try to ~not~ to move the throat at all,
in the manner you had learned to do before. Isolate the mouth bend, now,
just as you have the throat bend.

Practice mouth bending on holes 1-6 on any harp. You will find that the
shorter reeds respond to this most readily. It should be very difficult,
at first, to do a "pure" mouth bend on any reed below the 4th hole on any
harp lower than a Bb and on any reed below the 3rd hole on any harp
below a C. If you find it fairly easy to mouth bend these reeds, it is likely
that you are adding some throat movement to facilitate the bend. Try to
keep it pure and isolated for now.

Once you get fairly proficient with these two approaches to bending in
isolation, then you can begin to combine them to great effect, in a way
that will allow you to draw any bend the full throw on holes 1-6 on any
harp with absolutely no exertion.

Whenever you apply a mouth bend to a note that is bent in the throat, it
has the effect of tempering the throw of the bend. It is the degree of
mouth bending that is applied with a throat bend that determines the throw.
More mouth bending means less throw.

Remember, pure throat bending is effortless. So, it is simply a matter
of developing sufficient control over this effortless process, adjusting
the throw of the throat bend by tempering it with mouth-bending technique.
If this is done with consideration to minimizing exertion, you should be
able to play any of the notes within the bending throw of any draw reed
with absolutley no exertion.

This type of approach requires a great deal of focus and, as I said in my
first missive, many players and teachers would fault me for
over-intellectualizing a natural process. However, I have seen many
players suffering unnecessarily from the results of years of
"bending by force," when a little analytical, step-by-step focus in the
beginning would allow them to forego months and years of struggle,
instead promising mastery within a short time. If you don't have time to do
it right in the beginning, how will you find time to correct it later?

Of course, for those that just want to have a little fun and not really learn
how to play, well, all of this is just...

It may be useful to have a teacher help you with this, to guide you
and verify the correctness of your approach.

I hope you are making progress.

Regards,

Magic Dave

Subject: Southern Colorado Blues