How to focus and refine our bending technique

Welcome to the Course

Hi, everybody. Welcome to this course! I'm here at my place in Nashville, Tennessee, and I've got the guys from Music Gurus here. We're going to talk about different ways to improve your playing using the Gazelle Method and the half-valved harmonica.

As you've already seen, you'll need an A flat Gazelle Method half-valved harmonica to do this lesson properly , or the course, actually.

Lesson 1: Refining Your Bending Technique

Important Basics

Before we dive into the technical aspects, let's review a couple of important points:

• Grip on the Harmonica:

  • Ensure that your grip does not impede your ability to get a good seal and mouth position on the instrument.
  • Make sure your finger is not in the way and that you can get your mouth about halfway into the COVID plates.
  • This will provide you with a good seal and make it easier to achieve good tone and clean single notes.

• Mouth Position:

  • Follow the above steps to ensure you have access to the harmonica.

Understanding Valve Bending

What I like to say about valve bending is that it somewhat emulates blow bending at the top of the harmonica. Here's a breakdown of some key differences:

• Blow Bends vs. Draw Bends:
  • Blow bending happens at the top of the harmonica and differs from draw bends, which occur at the bottom end.
  • Draw bends take place a little further back in our mouth cavity, while blow bends occur more forward.

The Garden Hose Analogy

Here's an analogy to help illustrate this concept:

• Imagine a garden hose:
  • When water flows out without a nozzle or sprayer attached, it comes out in a big, lazy stream and hits the ground.
  • By placing your thumb over the end of the hose, you restrict the flow, causing the water to shoot further.

This is analogous to playing blow bends at the top of the harmonica. It requires:

• A tighter embouchure
• A more focused and direct airstream

Focused Airstream

Now, I'm not specifically saying you need to play harder. Rather than a loose approach, think of it like this:

• Instead of a soft, lazy stream, aim for a concentrated and harder stream to hold those short reeds in a bent mode.

Bending on Holes 8, 9, and 10

Here's how it looks when I play holes 8, 9, and 10 bending on your A flat harmonica:

• When I perform this again from a side view, notice that my lips move forward, creating a very constricted, precise, and focused airstream.

Conclusion

Valve bending emulates this process. Instead of applying normal draw bends or using what we think is that technique at the bottom, we need to emulate blow bends from the top.

That's what's going to help us control single reed valved bends.

I'll see you in the next lesson!