I can bend 1 2 3 fairly confidently but 4 draw isn’t the same. Anyone else struggle to get this bend? Haven’t tried 6 very much but it’s also a lot different than the lower octaves.
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That was actually my hardest bend as a beginner many eons ago. It takes a lot of practice to get it down, but you can get 6 draw once you’ve learned how to bend 4 draw as they require the same air pressure.
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Hi @Madmartigan26, for me it depends on the key. For my C & D harmonicas, -1 is easiest and -2 is most difficult. With my F harmonica, -1 is most difficult and the other draw bends are all pretty much equal. I’m still struggling with the blow bends. I guess we’re all different. Of course, if we follow JPs instructions for using ‘bend it better’ we should practice with just one harmonica, not three as I do. But I don’t listen to my mother either. I did listen to Luke once.
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Hey @Madmartigan26 - Welcome to the forum. So happy to have you here!
Yeah -4 and -6 require smaller mouth movements than the lower holes.
Also, the where the back of the tongue is pushing up toward the roof of the mouth is going to be farther forward than on the lower holes.
Sometimes it’s helpful to think about just pushing the tip of the tongue down to the bottom of the back of the bottom teeth rather than thinking about back of tongue.
Another idea to try. Check out the Bend It Better tool and work on getting the SMALLEST -3’ bend you can get. Like not quite making it down to Bb or just barely dipping into it. That’s gonna be pretty close to the -4’ bent position. If you move REALLY SLOWLY from an unbent position to that -3’ position you should hit the -4’ position on your way there.
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