i have started to bend the first and second holes on my silver star harp which is in the key of c.

when i bend any of the other holes it doesnt work. do i need to have diiferent styles of bending for every hole or is it the note that i am trying to bend.

thanks everyone.

booky_blues

Yes and No.

Yes, it takes a different amount of air/effort to bend each of the different holes.

No, the same principles apply no matter what hole you are bending.

Keep in mind, you can only bend draw 1, 2, 3, 4, & 6.
Blow bends are available on 7 through 10, but are far from easy.

pcquyiv is correct. except, DO NOT attempt to bend blow 7. The interval between blow 7 and draw 7 is only 1/2 step. As with draw 5 to blow 5 there is no place to bend to. By trying to bend either draw 5 or blow 7 is the fastest way that I know of to ruin the harmonica.

thanks for the help. i can bend from 1-6. i dont understand how bending either draw 5 or blow 7 can wreck the harmonica. i have stoped doing this on draw 5 and i will not do it on blow 7. if you can tell me what it does to wreck the harp it will be much appretiated.

is it only thye c harp that i should not bend on draw 5 or blow 7 or is it all of the harps.

thanks for your help

dont bend on 5 or 7 on all harps. what we're actually doing when we bend (and you may know this) is changing the direction the air hits the reed - causing it to vibrate at a different rate than it normally would. that puts a lot of stress on the reeds, esp when done on 5 and 7. after you've bent A LOT on a harmonica anywhere, it will eventually give out - normally only after a long time. but dont worry about it - when it does, just buy a knew one.

I've talked to alot of harp players who say they blow out the 5 reed the most, when learning to bend.... but that's all part of the learning process.