Re: [Harp-L] hole sizes (and embouchures)



Oh, man, I can relate.

First off, any concern is warranted. It may or may not turn out to be a big obstacle in the long run, but if you have a sticking point, you have a sticking point. So don't beat yourself up about *being* concerned.

That said, different hole sizes on different harps is one of those realities of life. With less than two years of playing under my belt, I have a mix of two different brands of harp (fewer of the expensive ones, more of the moderately-priced ones) and they have different hole sizes. My way of coping with this has been learning to play mostly with the tongue-block embouchure. I can *feel* the holes with my tongue, and so I don't have to calibrate my moves up and down the harp so precisely. But then, I can get deeper and better bends on hole 2 with the pucker embouchure, and can't get blow bends at all reliably with tongue blocking (though I believe it can be done). So I've worked almost as hard at *switching* embouchures on the fly as I have at playing with each embouchure separately. (And as I wrestle with overblows and faster playing, the issue of which embouchure to use is probably going to bite me some more.)

My instinct is to say that it's good to try a variety of harps (even and perhaps especially with different hole sizes) earlier than later. There's some lossage with buying harps in all 12 keys -- because we like to be thorough -- only to find out shortly thereafter that you like another brand better. If you can, weather the differing holes sizes as something that will make you a more versatile player. And try tongue-blocking the minute you're ready to add yet another complication. Mostly, though, do what you need to do to keep having fun, because without that, *everything* grinds to a halt, which is Bad(tm). [Bearing in mind that sometimes _working_ at stuff now makes the _playing_ more fun later. Eyes on the prize, etc.]

To the rest of the list: Having given my recent-raw-beginner take on this, I hope that some of the seasoned players will also weigh in. I'd be especially interested in how tongue-blockers made the transition to playing overblows when you were first learning them, and then later: Did you pucker them, first, and then learn to overblow tongue-blocked, or pucker the overblows and then pucker everything else, too? A mix? How about you turbocharged fast players? Tongue-block or pucker?

Elizabeth


On Jan 14, 2010, at 6:26 AM, vincent wrote:


Well my newest naive revelation is that the hole sizes are not the
same on my different harps, even though they are all Hohners.  This is
a bit alarming, since I am a beginner and I was wondering why I was
having trouble playing one harp as well as the other.  I thought it
could be differences in the metals, flexibility of the reeds, the
different keys (which are all possible) but now I am thinking a factor
is  hole size.   My guess is the Blues Harp MS has to have smaller
holes due to the wood comb and stability issues.  The Big River and
the cheap "Silverstar" with their plastic combs seem to have the same
size holes.

This is a pretty major issue in my opinion, since I started and have
practiced most on the Silverstar, and am having trouble switching to
the technically superior Blues Harp.  Hole size seems to me a
fundamental issue in playing, doing one-hole draws, etc.  Also I had
heard some advice to get all different kinds of Harps, but now I think
that might not be a good idea if there is going to be an issue of
different hole sizes.

Could you tell me if any other hole size variations in the other
Hohners (like the Special 20s, which I was considering next)?  And is
my concern on this warranted?
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