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Harmonica Bending Techniques

To bend notes on the harmonica using tongue blocking, the part of the tongue that is arched (humped) depends on the pitch being bent. Higher pitches require arching the front of the tongue closer to the front of the mouth, while lower pitches require arching the back of the tongue farther back in the mouth. It takes many hours of experimenting to learn exactly where in the mouth to position the tongue for different bends. When practicing, only the tongue should move and no additional muscle tension is needed beyond what is required for proper embouchure.

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Giorgos Triantafyllou
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40 views1 page

Harmonica Bending Techniques

To bend notes on the harmonica using tongue blocking, the part of the tongue that is arched (humped) depends on the pitch being bent. Higher pitches require arching the front of the tongue closer to the front of the mouth, while lower pitches require arching the back of the tongue farther back in the mouth. It takes many hours of experimenting to learn exactly where in the mouth to position the tongue for different bends. When practicing, only the tongue should move and no additional muscle tension is needed beyond what is required for proper embouchure.

Uploaded by

Giorgos Triantafyllou
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The front (tip-top, the blade) of the tongue is on the face of the harmonica and

to bend you hump your tongue. Which part of your tongue you hump is
dependent on the pitch you're trying to bend.

If it's a high pitch (6 draw for example), then you'll use more of the front of the
tongue, further forward in your mouth.
A mid bend (4 draw for example), you'll use more of the middle of your tongue,
in the middle of the mouth.
And for a low pitch (2 draw for example), you'll use more of the back of your
tongue, far back in the mouth.
Since you can't see your tongue and don't know exactly where in your mouth to
hump, it requires many, many hours of experimenting, so get working and
experiment, experiment, experiment.

When practicing tongue block bending keep in mind that only your tongue
moves, so there is no auxiliary muscles needed nor do you need to "muscle-
up" your tongue for the bending process. At first it will feel this way, as in any
type of embouchure when bending, but in time your embouchure will be
relaxed.
Tongue... not throat. Throat has nothing to do with the bending process...

...you don't want auxiliary tension in your body that's not needed!

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