Chapter 1, Bending
Getting Started
~Diagram 1~
Hard & Soft Palate
WU
Esophagus
(To Stomach)
Throat,
(To Lungs)
WG
Before we can go into the actual act of bending, we
need to consider how the different parts of your
mouth interact with each other. Diagram I shows a
side view of your mouth. At the roof of your
mouth is the hard palate and soft palate. The hard
palate, even though it doesn't move, is the second
most important part in your bending. When you
drive a car you need two elements: the car, and the
hard pavement you drive upon. The hard palate is
just like that pavement. Just as pavement gives a
‘car a surface to maneuver upon, the hard palate
gives your tongue a surface to maneuver upon.
Learning Tip
As you read through the next couple of pages, take
a mental picture of all of the bending diagrams.
Remember them well so you can work on your
bends when you don't have this book at hand. To
this day I still work on bending techniques to
improve my playing. In my opinion clean,
articulate, and well thought out bends are the
trademarks of a good harmonica player.
Step One In Your Bending
~Diagram 2~
When blowing or drawing, your tongue should be
in a natural relaxed position like in diagram 2. By
having your tongue in this relaxed position it
allows your air stream to flow freely from your
harmonica, through your mouth and down to your
lungs. Remember not to allow air to leak through
your nose. This will produce a whiny tone and
you'll run out of breath quickly, especially during
bending. Look at diagram I again at the nasal
opening. This opening is the pathway to your
entire nasal system. To stop the leakage through
your nose, think as if you have a cold and you're
irying to stop that annoying stream of phlegm from
flowing down your throat, You'll find that the air
passage that links your nose to your mouth has a
controllable muscle. By tightening that muscle you
can stop the air leakage and you'll find that you can
play longer, cleaner, and stronger than before. If
you're not sure you're leaking air through your
nose, after learning how to bend, plug your nose
with your fingers. If you were leaking air before,
you'll feel and hear a large difference in your bend.
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