Hello and welcome to this week’s lesson where I will be showing you a clever way to learn how to play the 3 draw half step bend in tune on any harmonica.
Click here to download lesson resources
Most people struggle with hitting the 3 draw half step bend in tune because it is such a small and subtle bend. If they practice it with a chromatic tuner they usually see that they are bending too deep but then really struggle to work out how to do it properly.
There is a simple solution to this problem which is using another harmonica as a reference pitch for the bend.
Reference harmonica
If you are trying to play the 3 draw half step bend on the C harmonica you are aiming for a Bb note. So if you play this note on another harmonica that doesn’t require bending, you can hear what it should sound like.
I suggest that you play the 4 blow on a Bb harmonica to hear what the bend should sound like on the C harp.
Learn what the vibrations feel like
Not only do you learn what the note should sound like but your mouth learns what it feels like to vibrate at that pitch. This makes it much easier to play the bends – as if by magic!
Try this on all keys
You can do this trick with any key harmonica as long as you have enough other harmonicas as references. I highly recommend that you download my reference chart for the 3 draw half step bend on all keys by clicking the button below.
Click here to download lesson resources
Good luck and thank you!
Good luck with your bends. If you have any questions just send me a wee email.
