Re: Ouch!

[Steve Jennings <100010.1152@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

One way of stopping the wooden comb swelling is to stop dribbling into
it. Basically, the problem is Pavlovian in nature - our brains are so
much in the habit of regarding anything that we put in our mouths as
being good to eat that as soon as a harp goes in there, we start
salivating. It takes a while to get your brain to realise that the
nutritional value of a harp is about zero, and to make the distinction
between playing harp and eating, but once you've overcome it, the
problem just goes away. When I first started learning to tongue-block I
had the same problem with swelling wood, but I stuck with it, and now I
play so dry I have to stop and drink water between numbers to keep my
mouth lubricated.

It's only practise - again!

Incidentally, the SBS pricing thing is probably simply down to the fact
that the national distributors for Hohner aren't interested in new
products - half of them don't understand the old ones, so innovations
are just too much hassle. I agree with Winslow, the likes of Steve, and
in the US, Rick Epping need all the support we can give them to get the
situation turned round. After all, it's us blues harp players who've
kept the company going since the beginning, so we must have earned
*some* respect from them by now.

Steve Jennings
Editor, Harmonica World