Stepping Up Your Harmonica Game: Essential Harmonica Bending Videos

Stuck in a rut with your playing? Do you feel like you're lacking something? Ever wonder what you need to do to take your playing to the next level?

It seems to me there is often one thing that separates an amateur sounding harmonica player and pro, effective bending. Many of the blues harpers I see out at jams are not utilizing key bends on the harmonica. Anyone can play an unbent note but the ability to bend correctly separates the weak from the strong.

There are guys who have been playing for decades but are never able to transform their sound from amateurish to pro. One skill I try to encourage struggling players to focus on is correctly bending the 3 hole draw. Utilizing all this hole has to offer will open new doors of melodic possibilities in every genre of music. In the first octave the three hole draw is the gateway to major, minor, and blues land. Without these bends you will not be able to play a complete scale in the first octave, in any position, period.

To my ears, one thing that really makes a harmonica player sound like an amateur is excessive reliance on the 3 hole draw un-bent (in 2nd position this is the major 3rd). Failure to play this note as the blue 3rd (played in between a whole and a half step bent) results in playing that is lacking the very note that defines the unique sound of the blues. Similarly if you are a country style player, and are not playing the 3 hole as a major 2nd (bent a half step) you are missing out on a key melodic note. For example, "Amazing Grace" cannot be played correctly in the first octave without bending to this note.

If you are really looking to improve your blues sound, I recommend trying to avoid playing the three hole unbent, after all the major 2nd does not occur in the blues scale. Thats not to say that there is no place for the major 2nd in blues, there is! However I believe you will make great strides towards a bluesier sound if you avoid it until you are used to nailing that blue third. If you can learn to master these bends properly you will be sure to score big points with the crowd and even the staunchest of musicians at your local jam.


Adam Gussow's blue third lesson explains in great detail how to achieve this sound: This is one of the most helpful videos out there for harmonica players and is a must watch.
part 1

part 2



Jason Ricci does an excellent job of explaining the importance of bending effectively. His lesson on advanced bending offers helpful tips, exercises and demonstrations how the bends work in a few contexts. He also points out that it is very hard to do this accurately. It will take a long time (maybe years) until you are totally comfortable hitting each note perfectly. It's O.K. to get frustrated just keep working at it and you'll get it!

My Holy Grail of Harmonica Videos

This is pretty much as good as it gets for me. The Grateful Dead playing Willie Dixon's "Wang Dang Doodle" with John Popper. On November 3, 1991 the Dead were kind enough to let the Blues Traveler front-man sit in for a spirited rendition of this blues staple. Undoubtedly this was a thrill for Popper who at this time was still a young man in the beginnings of his career. He joins a list of other legendary harmonica players to sit in with Grateful Dead members including Paul Butterfield, Mickey Raphael, and even Ken Kesey of all people! The Dead actually has a long history with the harmonica. Early on in their career original organist Ron "Pigpen" McKernan's harmonica solos used to bring down the house.

Popper and The Dead performed for a crowd of nearly 500,000 at the Bill Graham Memorial Concert in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The Dead's set also included guest appearances by John Fogerty and Neil Young.
Bill Graham was a legendary concert promoter who gained prominence in the 1960's promoting acts such as The Grateful Dead, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, and Jefferson Airplane. His company helped to promote Blues Traveler before his demise in a hellicopter crash. Graham's story is a very interesting one which includes his escape from the Nazi's during the Holocaust to helping shape the counter culture revolution in the 60's.

This is a fitting tribute. Enjoy!