How to bend notes on the harmonica (beginner onwards)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ต.ค. 2014
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This lesson deals with the technique for draw bends, as well as the uses and advantages of bending notes on the harmonica. You'll need a C harmonica to take part (I'm using a Hohner Marine Band, but any ten hole diatonic harmonica will do just fine).
The video is aimed at beginners who are able to get good clean single notes on the harmonica and want to learn to bend them (change their pitch).
It is also possible to blow bend and overblow notes on the harmonica but these techniques are beyond the scope of this lesson. You might also like my lesson on blow-bending: • How to play harmonica ...
Want to know which harmonica is easiest to bend? • What's the EASIEST har... - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
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5:27 How to bend
5:45 Inward whistle approach
6:02 inward whistle example
6:15 dip the pitch
thanks
Bang on, Liam. Just bent my first note after 40 years of trying. You're a star!
+Ronald Dobson Congratulations Ronald and thanks for the kind words! All the best, Liam
You are helping me really out for me as a beginner. Thanks! 🙌🏻
Liam looks like young Jim Carrey
Wait what?! 40 years!!
hello sir... i am happy for you.. i was some how lucky to play 4 draw bend in a day (still frustrating) but now 2 and 3 are extremely frustrating...
6:15
You‘re welcome
Thanks
Thank you so much
Thank you very much!
Why thank you oh so very much!
thanks)
MY GOD IT WORKED !!! It was the moving the harmonica away from the mouth ! I have been trying to do this for ages ! This guy is the best teacher because I learned it here.
Wow. Amazing. At 6:10-6:20, that ten seconds was a life-savor! I've been looking all over. Reading books, reading articles, watching other TH-camrs, and nothing. Absolutely nothing they said actually helped. These 10 seconds helped me make the bend immediately after watching.
This makes me so happy Gary! Exactly why I do these videos, in the hope that they help people like yourself. Good luck on your harmonica journey :) Cheers. Liam
Gary Hess thanks for you , after i read your comment i got it, u saved my day bro 😍💖
Day one of learning the harmonica and I got the bend at 6:10. I've always been a whistler....made sense to me.
Andrea Zelones you rock bro
it's my first day and i decided not to learn further until i get the bend. I can whistle backwards and lower the tone like he did but no matter how i do that with my harmonica it won't bend. I start thinking it's my cheap harmonica's fault..
Legit no matter what i do my note stays solid
try tilting the harmonica up (down into mouth)
@@nathankrueger8346 holy shit that actually worked
How are your skills now after 1 year?
Get a tight seal with your lips on ONE note. The tongue does the rest. Breathe in and make a "whee-ooo-whee-ooo" sound by moving your tongue forward and back. You're changing how much space is there. It's actually dirt simple once you get the feel for it, and it's the same technique for blow bends, overblows, and overbends.
@@seejayjames YES...THANK YOU!!!!
The inward whistle totally unlocked it for me! I had semitone bends from copying mouth positions. But I'm a long time whistler and that changed everything. Thanks!
Awesome, congrats Matthew!
Hey look, it's the lesson that taught me how to hit a 4 draw bend and set me on my way along my harmonica journey. Thank you for this Liam, this was an eye opener for me. Bending was like magic and fairy dust until found this lesson. You da man 👊
No worries Tony, thanks for watching! Cheers. Liam
Fantastic! Definitely recommending this video to my own followers!
Thanks Kerin, keep up the good work :)
Wooow, thanks A LOT! Couldn't figure it out with days of reading tutorials, but with 15 minutes I`ve done my first out of tune bend! Gonna practice for hours now cause I`m super excited
Haha thanks. Remember to sleep and eat as well.
13:14-13:40 is some of the best harmonica playing I've ever heard.
It's like the fourth tutorial I'm watching and FINALLY I'm getting there. Great tip with the usual whistling!
Well done Karl, I'm glad you're making progress :)
This video helped me up my harmonica game vastly! A very sincere Thank You.
+jaime torres You're welcome Jaime - all the best with your playing. Liam
“You will probably break a few harmonicas practicing this, so start with a cheap one.”
Me, already practicing on my rly expensive harmonica: “uh-oh”.
2 days in the future I am
Is your musical item dead?
@@auxometer not yet
How would it break?
@@Optics21 Not litterally, but I persume that one could ruin the sound or something by practicing bending. Just my reasoning that though.
@@Optics21 the reeds will be fucked up I have one that 4 hole doesn't work right anymore
This is the best video teaching bend. Clear and simple, right on the point, and clearly demonstrated the sound. I watched many videos and most of them overcomplicated the technique. I learned bend after two weeks and did almost exactly what you taught here. Thanks a lot!
You're welcome, thanks for your kind words MrSolarcell!
Thanks a lot Liam, inward whistling and changing the pitch down helped me to play my first draw bend just after a couple of minutes. Your simple and pointed explanation worked for me much better than other videos, which made me think I was going to need months for this.
Nice work! :)
Thanks for the lessons man! I play a little harmonica for a little over a year now, and I'm finally really starting to get it down with guitar. Really appreciate the clear explanations on everything. Thanks man!
You're welcome Tanner, all the best and keep practising!
Liam
Oh, how could I have missed this one. A wizard you are! Finally I can bend the third hole all the way down everytime I need, because of the wissle approach. Thanks much appreciated.
You're welcome Jarkor W, thanks for watching and I'm glad this lesson helped you :)
Lots of people who are good at something can't necessarily teach but you're a skilled harmonica sensei
that really helped me understand what to do to make the draw note bend - the tensing up of the throat muscles just gives it so much more 'strength' or volume. thank you
You're welcome argus tuft
I've been looking on TH-cam for ages for the best all round harmonica tutor. I need look no further. Thank you for your great videos and teaching methods! JC.
You're welcome John, thanks for watching :) Cheers, Liam
Hey Liam wonderful lesson. I;ve played harmonica since I was 12 now 62 but never learnt the play the bend. I play as a hobby and especially during the Covd-19 lockdown in India, mostly play Hindi songs or some western songs. Love it mate keep up the good work. Thank You IV
You're welcome, thanks for watching and good luck to you :)
the ‘inward whistling’ is the best analogy i've seen in my days of learning the bending. This word enlightened me so much that I made my first bending sound right after hearing this.
Thanks A LOT.
Awesome, well done!
Wunnerful, this is the clearest demo I've experienced so far.
Thanks, glad to be of assistance to you :) Cheers. Liam
Dude, ive been trying to do this for the past week, no one could explain this good. I instantly made it. Now i can finally do this. Need more practice tho, but finally made it.
Congratulations, Aleksander!
First draw on the four Sounds a bit like the harmonica riff in the movie Once Upon A Time In The West
Yep, you got it!
exactly what i was about to say
Hi thanks I've only had my new harmonica less than a week. And I've been told it can take a whole year for some people to learn how to bend. Well fortunately some video gave me the right idea of how to try. So I was practicing with my tongue about three days before I even tried to make a bend. Then I was trying and thinking maybe I was accomplishing it. But it was only your video that let me know I actually was.. And I think you're lesson is going to help me more easily strengthen that bend. It's such a relief to move out of the "am I doing it zone'
So quickly. I haven't actually practiced on that song yet but I'm going to start.
Thanks for that. Solved some questions I had about 2 and 3 draws. You were very clear.
You're welcome Martin. The 2 draw especially can be a mystery at first so it's good to get these things ironed out. Cheers. Liam
This is the best tutorial for bending harmonica notes that I have ever come across! After this one video, it clicked. Thank you!
You're welcome. Always great to hear a success story! Good luck with your playing. Liam
Thanks for this awesome beginners guide! I managed to do the inward whistle and bend in about 15 minutes of practice using your instructions. I don’t think I could have done that if you hadn’t described the techniques so well! Especially helpful that you showed the “push of the mouth, lips” (don’t know what the proper term for that is lol) from a side view - that clued me in immediately. I remember my former clarinet teacher telling newbie me that I should imagine having a hot potato in my mouth when playing :-)
Glad it helped, Thea! Now I'm hungry for potatoes... Cheers. Liam
At first I couldn't do it at all but after the second day I'm kinda doing it and honestly this video helped the most thank you so much
Glad I could help! 😎
Thanks your drawing bending lesson has helped me the most out of all of the TH-cam lessons that I’ve watched.
You're welcome Michael, thanks for watching :)
This vidio is perfect! I have finally learned to band. Thank you so much!
Thanks Petra!
Amazing video! While I was listening to your advice I was practicing and when the video was over I learned how to bend. Thx!
+brandonmlu So glad you've found this useful. All the best for your playing, keep it up! Kind regards, Liam
Thank you for this really... I watched 4 other bending videos and no one explained it this way. Tried it for a few days before and got it before the end of the video. Still working at it but you are a great teacher
Thanks BIll Galarza, and congrats on getting your first bend. Keep up the good work!
Boy, it’s a long time before any explanation of how to actually do it. We could have been practicing along this whole time
Harmonica learner in the very early stages. This is probably the best video lesson on the subject, but (of course) it's pretty hard to achieve.
I kinda easily manage to bend the note on the first hole, but with the others the sound is barely a slight variation of the "normal" one. Will keep working on it! Got myself a Hohner Special 20 in C to start...when I'll be actually able to (pretend to) play a Harmonica, I'll get one in G too, probably just to play the track from Once Upon A Time In The West over and over...
Thanks for watching :) Good luck to you Giacomo Berti
Wish I found you sooner, but finally got it. Your explaination using an inward whistle was the trick. How to form my tongue & mouth has been difficult for one big reason; I tongue block for single notes. Maybe with more experience I'll bend while tongue blocking, but not while trying to find my bends. Thank you so very much for your video.
You're very welcome Greg, it's always great to hear when this video helps someone to finally crack the technique. Good luck with bending and your playing in general. Let me know how you're getting on :) Cheers, Liam
LearnTheHarmonica.com
LearnTheHarmonica.com i buy one Dytonic Harmonica BLUES HARP.Made by Germany its ok for learning.
It's funny you should say learning to bend while tongue blocking. Tongue blocking is how I learned to bend notes. I lip block for single notes. I have a very weird technique for playing harmonicas. Lol
Oh my gosh thank you!!!! I started doing it for the first time ever! Ty ty ty !!!
Thanks so much Liam for your very detailed and thorough explanation.
No worries Rose, thanks for watching :)
I didn't know I could whistle inward! And bending isn't as hard as I thought reading comments.
Feel special today! Thanks, sir :)
Nice one, you nailed it! Cheers. Liam
Today is my first ever day with my new harmonica and I love it! I can blow and draw clean notes and almost do this bend, it's hard though! Nicely explained vid mate!!
+Craig Martin Thanks for watching, Craig! Welcome to the crazy world of harmonica....
Aaaaah I finally bent it!! Thank you so much for the visual on how to move the lips. Very helpful
You're welcome :)
I have been trying to just get a clear note....no one so far has said anything about how you would hold your tongue....very helpful...thank you
You're welcome Dorothy, thanks for watching and good luck to you. Cheers! Liam
Don't bother with tutorials, just grab your harmonica and go all out in anger and it will bend
゚BobFredIII holy shit that actually worked
Lol so true
it actually does lmao
So what
But you may have to invest in some Jewelers files to fix your flat reeds. Replaced three harps already before I learned I could just file the reeds sharp again.
Really great instruction, had a student's harmonica, but now got a good C & G harmonica.Thanks again for easy teaching!
You're welcome, thanks for watching and I'm glad this lesson helped you. Cheers, Liam
The inward whistling explained it extremely well, now the bend is down. Thanks so much and happy harping!
+marvin oba Thanks Marvin, I'm glad this lesson helped you. Good luck with your playing! All the best, Liam
Try sounding a 'we'-'or' sound while drawing if nothing's working for you.
I tried feeling my neck while whistling inwards and couldn't feel it tensing with tone shifts. However, realising the 'we'-'or' sound from that did the trick
Liam just following up w u bout the bends practice . I've been working for a couple of weeks on those bends . I've been working on applying them to crossharping. I can play them much more effectively and smoother. Been working on amazing grace and on oh when the saints . I'm stoked I had a major breakthru tonight I felt I in the past I had been over exaggerating them instead of the kinda dive bomb effect. I'm stoked just figured I'd just check in and tell u. 😀 hope u are doing good 👍
Great to hear an update from you! Glad you're going in the right direction. Keep it up! Cheers. Liam
That inward whistling tip is working great for me, thank you very much from Montreal!
Nice one Mike, glad to be of service to you :)
fantastic tutorial... Great teaching keep up the good work!
Thanks Donald :)
Thank you. It really helps to know which holes can be bend how much and what to do. Now it's time to practice! :-) Great tutorial.
Thanks for watching and good luck :)
I was getting so frustrated because I couldn’t get this bending thing for almost a week already! After watching this video, I managed to bend on the first hole! Also, all the people here saying they’re also having a hard time with it makes me feel a little more optimistic. I guess this is just one of the hurdles we have to get past to learn the instrument. Good luck to everyone!
Well done Vida M.! Bending notes is a very difficult technique, so you're not alone. I'm still working on it years and years on :) Good luck with this and your playing in general. Cheers. Liam
Just learning the harmonica for first time now. Must say, your tuition is excellent. Thanks.
+Brendan Vahey Thanks Brendan, it means a lot to hear that this video helped you. Good luck with your playing and keep me informed! Liam
Thank you so much Liam! You are an amazing teacher!
You're welcome rudraksh thumar!
thank you for the explicit demonstration, at least I know my technique is right. Maybe next week, I'll be able to bend draws one and 2 and then I'll be wondering why i can't overblow. Or the next week. Gotta keep at it and focus on what i can do for now i guess
Robert Laughman Keep working on it, and remember patience above all. Cheers, Liam
Brilliant lesson, just starting but this lesson has opened the door and you're help and advice is absolutely invaluable, thank you so very much for sharing you're time and talent with us
You're welcome David, thanks for watching. Cheers. Liam
Your A Great Teacher! Thanks!!!
the best demonstration I've seen . Thanks you are awesome.
You're welcome Sir Law, thanks for watching.
DAMN, feels good finally landing a proper bend!
Thank you so much for your videos Liam, you are a true inspiration
+emil munk Thanks Emil, I'm glad the lessons are helping. The fun begins with the bends! Liam
Almost there yet ! Best video i found on bending and i've been throught alot !
Thanks Renz and all the best with your playing :)
I wanted to make a video about inward whistling for bends but i see you nailed it already :)
Will pass the info on as it's a nice bluesy sound on harmonica, thanks again, finally!
Remember to 'Subscribe' and click the bell to be first to see all my new lessons!
Comments taught better than this over explaining bloke
@@Bruh-gr7fr The explaining bloke taught some basics that the comments built on...
Hi, thanks for your tips ! I've been trying to bend notes for a few days and now I finally got my first bending on the first hole and that's the only one I can actually bend . Why is that?
So what you are saying is we are using our tongue to manipulate the tone.
Closer to the teeth is higher pitch, and further back into the mouth is lower
Can you write the lick on 4:58? 🙏🏼
I'm using a hohner special 20 progressive. All that happens is that I'm out of breath.
Man that was so helpful :) I just made my first bend tone :) Thanks a lot! Subscribed.
+MuchycZ Thanks for watching! Liam
Ha! The „inward whistling“ did the trick! Now I seem to be getting somewhere. Thank you!! 🙏🏼
Glad it helped!
Guessing this will take some practice but the inward whistling reference was great! Thanks for the video!
+Chris Mitzlaff Good luck Chris, keep working at it and you'll get there!
All the best, Liam
What helps me is when I suck and my lip covers the hole a bit it bends (really weird sentence haha.) Working on blowing now. This is an honest tip try not to laugh. It’s just a tip. I’m done
One the best now to videos i have seen for bending. Thanks for posting!
You're welcome, thanks for watching and I'm glad to be of assistance :) Cheers. Liam
Literally just picked one up and could bend straight away thanks to this thankyou!
You're welcome Ewan, thanks for watching and commenting :) Cheers. Liam
now we want a tutorial on how to whistle ?)
I'll see what I can do!
Don't work, at all. When I draw on the 4, it remains a D4 (checked with a frequency meter), no matter how I move my tongue or jaw. It just changes the color of the tone, but not the pitch.
Me too.
You have to get the feel of it. I thought the same but I managed to get the draw 4 note to drop almost a semi tone for a few seconds, maintaining is very difficult however, and I was not able to drop any of the other notes more than a quarter tone. Try positioning the harmonica lower into your mouth and draw up to the roof of your mouth. You should draw rather deeply as well and keep your eye on the tuner to see any lowering in pitch and work from there.
Thank you for explaining this is what I needed to see!
You're welcome, thanks for watching :)
I had watched several other videos without any luck but I managed to drop the pitch on several of the holes after watching this. Thank you. Strangely enough when my son was about 18 months old he could do this without even thinking.
Glad it helped, and congrats on getting your first bends!
I am able to do this on the 4th hole only by changing the position of my tongue (sort of the same movement when you whistle inward and go down in pitch) Is that correct or am I doing something wrong?
It's correct, takes time, just keep praticing, are you using tongue blocking ?
+LearnTheHarmonica.com I can bend the 1 hole fairly easily but cannot seem to bend any of the other holes hardly at all with the same technique. Should I be doing something differently?
+Scenic City Spike Hi there - practice, practice, practice! Each hole will feel slightly different. It will come with time. Good luck! Liam
super like! just got it! now im going to practice it! thank you very much Liam!
You're welcome, thanks for watching. Cheers. Liam
This is amazing! I got it thanks to the whistle analogy. Thank you very much!!!
Glad it helped! 😎
Do you use any effect pedals you harmonica?
Hi SnakeBitesTattoo, I have some pedals but I rarely use them. The most common one for me is a delay pedal and I have a few others but I've always tried to concentrate on technique before gear. Do you use pedals yourself? Cheers. Liam
Hi I just started playing the harmonica and have guitar pedals from the last many years of playing... I saw that they make harmonica pedals but to me learn the basic first....
Do you have any recommended songs to play that I can use to practice bending?
Hi Chris, which bends are you working on? The first bend to get is usually the four draw, so something like The River by Springsteen is a great one to practice: th-cam.com/video/Sj1ggfTOgXU/w-d-xo.html. Cheers, Liam
The wizard black Sabbath
^^ was going to comment this haha
Bravo. Thanks to your explanation, I've just managed to bend notes on my harmonica. Now I get it. Thank you so much
You’re welcome, thanks for watching!
holy shit, that was actually helpful. i've been watching some lessons on bending and that was the first one that really made me understand it. thanks
+1996madruga I'm really glad you're getting it! People talk about bending in lots of different ways, so I'm glad my explanation helped you. Keep at it, it's a long road but it's worth it. Cheers, Liam
....Practically speaking,....It (low note bending), works well when mouthing (almost saying), "YO", as in the word "YOYO", (while inhaling), - which really seems to approximate the necessary mouth (internal) 'shape changes' needed to make a good downward pitch bend.
+guloguloguy Heard that explanation a couple of times. When I do that, my note sounds like 'yo' and stays on pitch. -.-
Have you managed to get a bend yet? Cheers, Liam
LearnTheHarmonica.com Only slight ones using my lower lip. Anything I do with my mouth and tongue just creates a vocoder effect or weird slurpy noises. And I already tried sucking so hard my belly hurt... I know it takes most people a lot of practice, but I feel like I'm utterly physically incapable of doing it. :(
Sorry to hear that! I think it's in there somewhere. Perhaps you just haven't found the right explanation yet? One which makes sense to you personally... It's such a tricky thing to describe!
So I've been practicing Liam's techniques and struggling a bit with the whistle. I tried the "yo" thing and it actually sounds somewhat like a bend! To make the tones drop down more, would i hold the "yo" for longer? Thanks so much!
Any tips if half your face is paralyzed
+ChickenJuice hahahhaha I CAN'T DOOO THAT................ I'm dying
Markie Brown wat
hahahah I can't bend. hahaha I tried to put my tongue in different ways andddddd... can't, I suppose I need more time
ChickenJuice i
Use the other side
Thanks from Romania:)...i am a beginer and i learn with a Hohner Special 20 and Golden Melody....thanks again...true tongue revelation:)))
You're welcome, thanks for watching :)
Awesome tips, you've made my day :)
I CANT whistle... never learnt, tried many times, I can't. In or out, I can't. Am I still able to bend without knowing how to whistle?
Yes - if you watch the rest of the video after the whistling part, I describe the physical processes for you. Hope you find the video helpful :) Cheers. Liam
I can't do this😭 Edit: OMG WHEN U SAID U SHAPE I GOT IT!!!!
I'm really glad you got it Amanda! Cheers. Liam
This guy is surprisingly talented, just wish I could play a tenth as good. Thanks for your free lesson especially how to bend which many harp pro's say bending can't be taught but you have proved them wrong. Thank you.
Thanks Michael for your kind words.
First time trying and by doing the several things described in this video worked!! Amazing! THANK YOU!
Well done Wendy - sounds like you got it quicker than I did!
after all of this... blowing in blowing out... I fell a bit dizzy
Yes, it does take some getting used to. Watch this little video I made about breathing technique, it might help :) th-cam.com/video/dEI1bmmPGbQ/w-d-xo.html
VIEWERS: You can skip the first six minutes.
Thank you soo much.. this is my first time trying a bend and I nailed it ! 🤩
All thanks to you Liam 😊
That's awesome, well done!
The best tutorial so far. I got the point and I would change for sure after this. Thank Liam.
Glad it helped!
I'm doing everything you say but the note isn't changing whatsoever!
+Joshua MacColl Sorry Joshua, any luck with this since you posted?
Any luck with this since you posted?
Any luck with this since you posted?
Any luck with this since you posted?
I cant do it. *crying*
Try your best
Note - bending is caused by a change in airflow pressure. If you tried all these techniques and still can't bend, try taping up the holes to just isolate the 4 hole. I tried this and was able to bend - thus I have a lip blocking issue. The pressure won't change significantly if there's too much air escaping on the sides of your lips. This is why the 1st hole seems easier for some, maybe.
Thank you! Appreciated!