Airflow Direction for Bent and Non-Bent Notes
Normal 4 draw/bent 4 draw/normal 4 draw (i.e. "wee-ou-wee")- A trick that helps some players get a feel for bending is to use different vowel and consonant combinations in an attempt to get your tongue and mouth in the correct positions. Try a normal 4 draw/bent 4 draw/normal 4 draw by saying "wee-ou-wee" or "wah-ou-wah" when you inhale. The "ou" part would be the bent note. Hear the sounds in your head while you try to make the sounds with your mouth.
Combine the "wee-ou-wee" with the tilting trick- Still no luck, try simultaneously using the "wee-ou-wee" with the tilting trick at the top of the Bending section. The "ou" sound should coincide with the tilted up position. Do this slowly enough so that you can focus on both tips at the same time.
Get the sounds in your head first- Your odds of success with bending go up about 1000%
if you are able to hear the "un-bent and bent" sounds in your head. Memorize the sound file examples (see next bullet point) so that you can sing, hum, or whistle the un-bent and bent notes. "Hear" the bending sounds in your head while you try to match the same sounds with the harmonica.
Free audio bending examples- Bending examples can be heard at HarmonicaLessons.com.
See Chapter 9 for details on how to gain access to the free audio/video files. Listen to the sounds repeatedly (see bullet point above).
Use a chromatic tuner- A great way to check to see if you are actually bending your chosen draw note to the pitch it should be bent to (see above bullet point— "Different holes bend different amounts"), is to use an automatic Chromatic Tuner which will follow your pitch change progress. The tuner will let you know if you are accurately and completely achieving the bend. Chromatic tuners can be purchased at a local music store or by visiting the HarmonicaStore.com: Misc. Harmonica Products: Tuners section.
Top 2 reasons beginners can't get bending- Reason No. 1 is that they are still struggling with single notes and are trying to think about two things at once (Solution: work on your
Use a chromatic tuning device to see how the note is actually bending and by how much.
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Basic Playing Techniques
single notes a few more weeks and then come back to bending). Reason No. 2 is that they cannot accurately hear in their head what bending should sound like. This confusion leads many to believe they are bending notes when in fact they are just changing the tone of the note slightly by some other means. Solution: listen repeatedly to the sound files—see bullet point "Free audio bending examples". In many cases, Reason No. 1 is the cause of Reason No. 2.
Additional Info and Photos for Bending- More details on this technique, plus numerous other playing and jamming techniques are available in Vol. 2: "Playing & Jamming Techniques"
of this Beginning Diatonic Harmonica Book Series or found in the Techniques section within the Members Area at our website.
Proper breathing technique corrects the problems of a 'thin' weak sound and also fixes trouble draw notes like holes 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, that don't seem to play well, play in tune, or at all (nope, it's not a bad harmonica). Be sure you are fairly comfortable with the more basic techniques of Single Notes and Holding/Hand Effects before spending too much time on your breathing.
Put the harmonica as far into your mouth while maintaining single notes as you can- The easiest way to breath correctly with the harmonica is to play your Vertical Slot single notes with the harmonica as far into your mouth as possible. The further you put the harmonica into your mouth without losing the single note (see Single Note section in this chapter), the better. This will allow you to bypass the "sucking mechanism", the front of your mouth and lips, and force you to breath correctly from the bottom of your lungs. Try making a "ha" sound for every exhale (blow note) and every inhale (draw note) that you play.
Breathing
Airflow should always be parallel to the harmonica, reed plate, and reed itself unless trying to bend.
Correct breathing for the harmonica means N O T sucking and N O T blowing into the harmonica- Sucking and blowing occurs with your lips and at the front of the mouth. This is the most instinctive method of getting air through the harmonica, but it is not correct.
"Survival breathing" (for beginners)- It should be noted that the correct breathing on harmonica is not to be confused with what we might refer to as "survival breathing." All beginning harmonica players get winded and tired when they play for more than just a few minutes. Time, and conditioning through repetition will solve this problem. Remember to stay relaxed and try to breathe with, through, and around the harmonica. Don't force it.
Endurance will develop naturally the more you play the harmonica.
Why correct Single Note technique is important to your breathing- The act of dropping your jaw and expanding your oral cavity helps create better tone and volume. At the same time, creating a Vertical Slot for single notes, eliminates the ability to suck and blow with your lips (the major cause of thin tone and slightly out-of-tune notes) by allowing the harmonica to go further into your mouth and bypassing the "sucking mechanism", your lips. Both aspects, dropping your jaw, and putting the harmonica further into your mouth help proper breathing to occur naturally.
Practice your breathing technique while standing- Whenever possible, be in a standing position if you are practicing or playing. Especially when you are working on your breathing technique, stand erect with your head up, back straight, and body relaxed so that you have a fighting chance of getting the airflow to originate from deep in your lungs and not from your mouth.
Correct breathing is done from the diaphragm- Although we breathe correctly and relaxed when we are sleeping, most of us don't do it much in our waking hours. If you have ever heard that when taking a deep breathe you need to fill up your chest, then you may have the wrong idea of what deep breathing is really about. The truly deep breathing is done from the stomach area/bottom of your lungs (diaphragm). Filling your upper chest with air is referred to as "shallow breathing".
Try a "cough" to feel the diaphragmatic movement- To simulate the experience of the force of air originating from your diaphragm, try a few quick loud coughs from your throat.
Now put a hand on your stomach and try it again. You should be able to feel your stomach move a split second before you hear the cough sound. Now try to get the same stomach movement without adding the cough. This is how correct breathing is initiated on all blow notes.
Now with the harmonica between your teeth- Keep one hand on your stomach to
monitor it's movement, and place the harmonica deep in your mouth between your teeth. Grip the harmonica with your teeth and take your hand away. With the harmonica this far into your
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mouth you will be playing a big chord (3-5 notes—the bigger the better). Now, relax, breathe naturally, and try to initiate the air movement from your diaphragm (stomach area).
"Follow through" with the airflow- To get better tone, increased volume, and more accurate intonation when you play, focus your airflow through the hole of the harmonica and not just into it. Think of the air going to the back of the hole, and out 3 inches beyond the harmonica and running parallel to the reed itself (airflow straight in and airflow straight out).
This concept is exactly the same as "follow through," as found in virtually all sports and in martial arts.
Angled airflow is why 2 and 3 Draw (and 7, 8, and 9 Draw) may not sound good- Angled airflow is why so many beginners cannot get a good sound out of 2 and 3 Draw. If there is any angle to your airflow, then you will be unintentionally bending every note you play and some of the high draw or blow notes like holes 7, 8, and 9 (along with holes 2 and 3 draw), may not come out at all. This leads many beginners to the conclusion that they have a bad harmonica. The airflow should be parallel to the reeds or the hole itself. (See the "Airflow Direction" diagram in the preceding Bending section.)
Additional Info and Photos for Breathing- More details on this technique, plus numerous other playing and jamming techniques are available in Vol. 2: "Playing & Jamming Techniques"
of this Beginning Diatonic Harmonica Book Series or found in the Techniques section within the Members Area at our website.
Put the harmonica all the way into your mouth, clamp down with your teeth, and let go with your hands. This is breathing without sucking! Try to suck with your lips—you’ll find it’s not possible.
Additional details on the 4 Basic Techniques, plus other playing and jamming techniques like Tonguing (articulation), Using Chords, Warbles, Slides, Tongue Blocking, Throat Vibrato, Blow Bends, and others are available in Vol. 2: "Playing &
Jamming Techniques" of this Beginning Diatonic Harmonica Book Series or found
in the Techniques section within the Members Area at our website.
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Basic Playing Techniques