mr_so&so
28 posts
Feb 09, 2009
8:52 AM
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I've finally got the blow bends down and and am starting to play around with them. The "tah"-type tongue articulations that you can do with draw notes don't work (for me) with blow bends because the tongue position is so critical to getting the bend. I can articulate with my thoat, but are there any other ways that people care to share?
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mickil
17 posts
Feb 09, 2009
12:00 PM
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I keep meaning to write an e-mail to kudzurunner suggesting a lesson on the subject cos I don't think it's as straightforward as it might first appear.
For example, it is easier to bend draw notes with some syllables than it is with others because of where they are formed in the mouth or throat, e.g. da (with the toungue) and ga (in the throat); this can be useful to know if you're trying to play bent notes in a fast passage.
I know that kudzu sometimes says what articulation he's using, but he's never covered it in a lesson in its own right.
I'll stop typing this and write that e-mail.
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'If it sounds GOOD to you, it's bitchen; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty' - Frank Zappa
Last Edited by on Feb 09, 2009 12:34 PM
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mankycodpiece
88 posts
Jan 10, 2010
11:42 AM
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i just can't control the 10 hole blow bends at all.
they dive straight down to the bottom on some of my harps and just wobble between two on other harps.
i think maybe the harps just need setting up properly.
i set them off with a thhh.it works ok for me.
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jodanchudan
10 posts
Jan 10, 2010
4:04 PM
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Do you guys lip purse or tongue block the blow bends? I can just about do them lip pursed (but struggle on the high harps) but am finding it tough tongue blocking.
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jodanchudan
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nacoran
766 posts
Jan 10, 2010
10:11 PM
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Jodanchudan- I pucker, but I actually find the high harp easier to blow bend (and regular bends for that matter.)
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walterharp
174 posts
Jan 11, 2010
9:34 AM
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i kind of use the back of my tongue with a pucker and attack it with a bit more force if wanting to start it bent.
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mr_so&so
260 posts
Jan 11, 2010
10:47 AM
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@Manky Like any technique it gets easier as you work on it. Try it various ways too. I worked on them for months before they got easy to do for me.
@jodadchudan I lip purse, but can barely do 8'+ tongue blocked. I've working on them TB'd.
I'll pass along something I just discovered. I've started working on Whammerjammer, and was playing with the vibrato on 10''+. I found that if I jiggle the harp "in and out", i.e. closer and further from my lips, I get a good vibrato. Adam said something about jiggling the harp in his YT series on Whammerjammer, but I had heard that as "back and forth", which didn't work for me very well.
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barbequebob
316 posts
Jan 11, 2010
11:09 AM
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Many players who use too much breath often have problems with the bends in the top octave because they are trying to force it to happen, and that is THE WRONG THING TO DO. You do need to make subtle asjustments in the embouchue as well as the inside shape of your mouth to go along with that. The top register bends get easier on harps from the key of C and lower, get more difficult from key of D and higher.
With too much breath force, you lose any and ALL control of the bends, along with any possible throat vibrato on thebends as well.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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congaron
408 posts
Jan 11, 2010
12:16 PM
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I place my tongue behind my lower teeth and push/release it to control the pitch. It bends your tongue just a little and changes the airway length. Those reeds are quite short..it doesn't take much.
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Shredder
106 posts
Jan 11, 2010
8:17 PM
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BBQ is right, at 1st I thought you had to really blow hard to make it happen and that's not true. I can get it to happen with very little force now that I know how my tounge should be placed and what has to happen to cause the bend.
I'm a lip purser to answer that question.
Mike
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barbequebob
324 posts
Jan 12, 2010
11:54 AM
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Blow note bends can be done both puckered as well as tongue blocked. I know Mitch Kashmar and Dennis Gruenling do all of the bending from top to bottom entirely tongue blocked. I use both methods, tho I do personally find the pucker method easier, especially on harps from Bb and higher. A lot depends on how you make subtle adjustments to your embouchure as well as the very inside shape of your mouth, but if you do not play fully physically relaxed and continue to use too much breath force, no matter what method you employ, you're gonna set yourself up for failure. Less breath force and relaxation cannot be overemphasized.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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