I'm a newbie to the harp & found draw2 a bit tricky, I hadn't realised that I was drawing air in through my nose which hindered me. I just placed my daughters swimming nose blocker(is that the right word) on & found the right strength almost immediately, feel free to scoff(go on) but, hey it worked for me.
By the way, NO I do not wear it all the time whilst playing, took it off after an hour as I'd "got" the technique.

I think a great deal of harp technique is hard to grasp, bit like learning to click your fingers, how do you explain that in words, tricky, you just suddenly "get it".
Hope this helps any newbies(like me) & if your a pro then please post if all the above is not the ideal way, I'm here to learn

That is a great tip.

If you're just learning the right air pressure to get the note to sound, then that's fine, but don't keep your nose shut forever - you're going to need it.

I've just put this in another post, but one good way to get the 2 draw to sound correctly is to push your tongue towards the front of you mouth until it is almost touching the harmonica and the note will come out true.

The reason I suggest this rather than blocking the nose is that when you are playing a long melody, you can start to run out of breath and need to get more air in your lungs (or out) than you can get through the harp hole. So you need to be able to play with your nose open so you can breathe.

Of course, pulling the tongue to the back of the mouth will help you bend the note, when you need to.

Cheers

Robin

Interesting because I have discovered that if I allow some air to flow through my nose, I actually draw better & have more control. Like Robin said, on those long melody's, we need all the air we can get.

But as a temporary fix to begin to learn air pressure, I can see how it could help. (smile)))

~always Maria.

ra-t "2 draw to sound correctly is to push your tongue towards the front of you mouth until it is almost touching the harmonica and the note will come out true."

I see what you mean, about the tongue & breath tip.

Gotta keep practisin', never really realised before how interestin' the harp is

cheers
jOe

Hey ra-t that's a great trick there! I just experimented the "put ur little tongue closer to the harmonica technique" and the note did came out smoothly! Thanx a zillon!

"Gotta keep practisin', never really realised before how interestin' the harp is
"
LoL U said it jOe


Gecko

DANG!

Now that is what I call a tip! While I haven't mastered it yet I can HEAR the improvement big time! Thanks a Kazillion!

After 4 months of trying this I finally found my trick for playing the two draw now. I have been told that it is not my best look, but it works. In essence what I found is that I have to have my nose plugged to play the note. Now obivously you can't play with your nose plugged but I found another way for myself and maybe it will work for you. Scrunch your nose and face up, kind of like if you were trying to do a bunny imitation. Not sure if that make sense or not. What it does for me is it ends up bringing my nostrils together and then i can play the note. Hopefully I can figure out a better way later in life, but hey for now, I can play that dog gone note now and pretty well and have even already incorporated it into some blues riffs. I do have to say though, there is little difference to my ear between the 3 blow and 2 draw. I tried the tongue thing and that didn't work so well, sorry, but that is just me, maybe it will work for you.

well, the 3 blow and the 2 draw are the same note!!!
so i guess if you here no difference that means your getting it right
cheers

I have read some different things on that. Some books that i have place one of the notes below the other in the music scale. I have read too though that they are the same note, all confused which doesn't take much. So they are both the same note??? and if so why would a person need to know how to play the 2 draw, other then for bending.

well I am no expert but from what I know
at least on the diatonic in C they are the same note
you should get the hand of it to make it more comfertable
to play on long rifs when you can choose the hole better for your
breathing.
or at least that was what I have been told...

I am just learning to play still but i have found that by moving your bottom jaw as far forward as you can along with most of the tips above. Also the person above stated that the 3 blow hole is the same as the 2 draw hole is correct, but if you want a bluesy/rocky sound then the 2 draw is the best.

I find when I drop my Jaw as far down and open the back of my throat keeping my tongue stuck to my lower pallett (see Dave Barrett Tone tip below) and play the notes from your diaprapm, Breathing in and out from your stomach you should get a nice clear round note, Make sure your tummy inflates when you Draw and Deflates when you blow, You can use this method playing all notes. A lot of top players play like this.


[www.harmonicasessions.com]

There are some exellent tips here, there are also more tips on youtube (for draw2) if you wanted to check them out. I find sticking the harp right into my mouth and bleeding a bit through my nose works for me. But i guess we all have diffrent ways of doing things. Thanks for all your work guys

Hey Harpo23,

You might want to get those nose bleeds checked out.

like ra-t said, The big thing on those low draws is to watch your toungue! make sure its flat on the bottom of your mouth, and not disrupting the flow of air. those big low reeds need some good wind to vibrate.

right, my booklet on bending says that it is IMPOSSIBLE to bend if air is passing through your nose, NO EXCEPTIONS!!! this is a very over-looked tip and it's good to have it out there now