Page 9 - Method intro edit

6) Bending Notes

Now that you can play clear single notes, let’s start “bending” notes. This
creates extra notes that are not naturally on the harmonica.

Think about it like this: you have ten holes on your diatonic harmonica, and

each one can be drawn or blown, so that means you can produce 20 natural
notes. However, almost every style of music requires a greater range of
notes, and so we get these additional notes by bending.

Draw bends are possible on holes 1 to 6 and blow bends can be done on
holes 7 to 10. To bend a note, you change the shape of your mouth while you
are drawing on or blowing into a hole.

6.1) Bend On Draw Hole 4

Start by drawing hole number 4 until you get an airtight single note. When you
have that, try saying "e" "u". You’ll notice that this creates a small movement
at the tip of your lips, and it’s this movement that will change the sound of
your note – or bend it.

Repeat this a good number of times – you should feel a bit of tension in the

tip of your lips, but shouldn’t feel like you’re forcing anything. And don’t worry,
it’s VERY common for it to take a while to get the bend, so don't be
discouraged if you can’t get it straight away. Just keep experimenting until
you find the right position.

6.2 Bend on 4 ex 1

4 4' 4 4 4' 4 4 4' 4 4 4' 4 4 4' 4 4 4' 4 4 4' 4