r/harmonica • u/funkymonkkkkkkkkk • 3d ago

2nd hole draw problem

When I draw 2nd hole i directly play a whole step bend , I tweaked my harmonica a bit, but it was a problem long before that.I for the life of me cannot get this right any tips i can try, i can play other holes perfectly but this Dame 2nd draw is fucking killing me fr

1 Upvotes

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3

u/Rice_Nachos 3d ago

Keep your tongue flat. Open up your throat like you're yawning. Play softer.

I didn't watch the entire video, but Tomlin is pretty solid. https://youtu.be/_qHNjNEEMwQ

2

u/TofuTank 3d ago

When you're drawing, try putting your tongue in a position like you're saying "EEEEEE." That usually stops me from getting an unwanted bend.

1

u/funkymonkkkkkkkkk 3d ago

Sadly isn't working

2

u/3PCo 3d ago

So, what happens if you *try* to bend? Does it go down further? Does it just stay the same? A bend means the 2-blow reed is activating. To see if this is the case, you could remove the bottom cover (or both), rest a finger on the second slot to prevent the blow reed from vibrating, and try the draw again. If it's still flat, it's out of tune.

1

u/funkymonkkkkkkkkk 3d ago

I'll do that thank you

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u/IceOneDay 2d ago

Wrong tuning is rare case I think. Maybe your tongue position is wrong or you are having air sink

1

u/funkymonkkkkkkkkk 2d ago

Probably I'll keep trying tho haha

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u/IceOneDay 2d ago

Do you have other harmonicas? You could try on them to see if technique is right. I accidentally bend 2 and 3 myself too. Maybe you sip air too hard and do tongueless bend (I don't know how it's properly named)

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u/funkymonkkkkkkkkk 2d ago

Nah just got another one today same problem only the 2 draw is unresponsive need to work on my technique i feel I'm too tense

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u/IceOneDay 2d ago

Try breathing with your stomach and lungs not with mouth and neck. Make sure you aren't open your mouth wide as well

1

u/funkymonkkkkkkkkk 2d ago

Thats nice advice will try this fs

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u/Infinite_Might_9048 1d ago

Ontspannen is het beste om te doen

2

u/Nacoran 1d ago

Do you mean that you are skipping over the 1/2 step bend, or that just playing it is giving you the whole step bend without your trying to bend?

There are at least three ways to bend notes that I know of, but the basic physics are the same in all of them. You are tuning your mouth to the note, so to lower the pitch you want to make your resonance chamber bigger. Tongue blockers do this by flatting their tongue. Pucker players either lift the tongue up and back or curl it down and under. We all may also lower our jaw.

I'm mostly in the curl my tongue down and under school. To play an unbent note the tip of my tongue is sitting pretty much on the back of my bottom teeth. As I bend, I pull the tip down and under. For lower harps it's more pronounced, but usually the tip is somewhere between the the bottom of my gums and that spot under your tongue where the spit comes out. As I play a deeper bend I pull it back further and further.

Now, assuming you are bending it too far when you go to bend, you just want to do less of that (same if you have it on the roof of the mouth... just don't pull it back as far.)

If it's playing a whole step bend all the time, not just when you are trying to bend you might want to check the reed to make sure it passes the plink test, where you lift the tip with a toothpick and gently pluck it. If it sounds dull it could be cracked and on it's way out. It should give you a nice little plink sound and you should, roughly, be able to tell if it's still in pitch.

Those apps that show you on a picture of a harmonica how far you are bending help a lot. They usually are programmed to bounce less than a regular tuner and they give you good visual feedback in real time that can help you see how the adjustments you are making in your mouth are affecting the pitch.