Re: [Harp-L] NAILED MY HOLY GRAIL! DELAYED OCTAVE on the Concerto



There is one thing pretty significant that happens at 30 seconds which I did not mention. I'm wondering if anybody notices it. If you're dying of curiosity, I spelled it out in a post on the Elk River forum, but I'm wondering if anybody will catch it here. 

 
David Payne
www.elkriverharmonicas.com


Elk River Harmonicas Forum www.elkriverharmonicas.com/forum


________________________________
 From: David Payne <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Harp L Harp L <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx> 
Sent: Thursday, November 1, 2012 7:39 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] NAILED MY HOLY GRAIL! DELAYED OCTAVE on the Concerto
 
Have you ever said you heard or saw something and for years people keep telling you "this thing you heard or saw, it does not exist" or at maybe you can least imagine what if that were the case? Let's say you got nasally probed by space aliens and told folks... they said there are no space aliens, it's your imagination, you must be crazy. Then, one day, you're at a party and the space aliens land and tell everybody "He was right. We are nasal-probing aliens from space." Imagine how you'd feel. 
That stuff never happens, except in the movies.... and except to me a few minutes ago. If I'd heard that song 15 minutes earlier, I would never have posted Black Magic Woman for the Bluesified Concerto sound sample. I would have used this. 

There is a technique called the delayed octave, whether that's an apt description of it, I don't know, that's just what it's called.  It's a really rare technique that only two people I know of can do it, the inventor, Dom Sgro, and Phil Caltebellotta. Last time I heard Danny G play, he was really close to it and was getting it on some of his octaves.  It's a double-stop octave technique where part of the octave pulses in and out. It's NOT a beat, one of the notes is delayed and that creates this special pulse. 
So, probably 99 percent of players have never even heard of it. Probably 90 percent of players can't hear it when it happens. Many people many, many, many times have told me when I've pointed out where I've heard it and tried to show it have said "you are hearing nothing. this does not exist." 

I was listening to the record of Tuesday's Huntington Harmonica Club jam. I got to the part where I was playing a lead on "Spooky" and there it was, bigger than life, the most extremely obvious delayed octave I've ever heard. I don't know how anybody could not possibly not hear this. I was playing tongue-block octaves on an Elk River Bluesified Seydel Concerto in D, I believe. When .you play a traditional tongue-block octave on a Concerto, you are playing four notes spread out over three octaves. Let's say you are playing a 1-4 draw split on a C. You would have four reeds sounding, a D3, D4, D4, and D5.  I suspect maybe that the combination of all these octaves made it possible somehow, because, as a player, I have chased this technique for years on the chromatic.  I did not hear the octave pulsate when I was playing. But, as I listen to the recording, there it is plain as day. In this four-reed octave, three reeds - the lowest reed and the two middle
reeds are ringing like a normal octave. The highest reed, however, pulsates, Dom-Sgro style.  

And it happened completely by accident. The bad news is, I have no idea how I did it, but I have a guess. The first time it pulsed perfectly, then it pulsed again kind of off, which makes me think I hit that octave mistakenly with too much of a bend embouchure. I don't know. But, believe me, I will be doubling my efforts to figure this out and do it on command.
The delayed-octave pulse is at seconds 28 and 29. The second, lesser pulse that goes out of tune is at 00:30. When I play the riff the second time, no pulse.
Somebody this time, please tell me they can hear this delayed-octave pulse. Please tell me I am not crazy. I might sound crazy by being so excited about this, but I'm sure all can understand the excitement of chasing a technique for years and then it finally happens. As a player, nothing of this personal magnitude has happened to me since I was about 12 years old and finally got a draw bend.  

http://www.elkriverharmonicas.com/delayedoctaveconcertospooky.mp3


Of course, in the back of my mind, there's a fear nobody will be able to hear this one, either, I thought the others were really obvious, too. But, I'm pretty confident this time. 

David Payne
www.elkriverharmonicas.com


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