Re: Bending hole 5.

[gmayhew@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (George Mayhew)]

>   I'm getting a little tired of hearing about ruining harps by bending the
> 5th hole.  We heard from Winslow that the greats have done it in the past. 
> Also on a physical level, there is no reason why the 5 blow reed is any
> different than the other blow reeds.  (Remember, bending a draw note means you
> are actually vibrating the blow reed.)
> 
>   I will admit that bending #5 will not give you an actual note (just an
> incomplete flattening of the 5 draw note), but you should still be able to
> do it without invoking "death from above". 
> 
>   
> --Norbert
> 
Of course you can bend hole 5.  Do whatever you need to do to get 
music out of your harp.  I bend hole 5.  I've also used my harps
as guitar slides and drumsticks.  Of those activities, only bending
hole five has caused the 5 hole reed to go flat.  Having discovered
that early on, I use the 5 bend sparingly, and when the music calls
for it.  I no longer, as I did when I first learned to bend, use 
the 5 bend as a substitute for 5 blow.  As Steve Jennings pointed
out, they are not the same note, anyway.

The original post that started this thread was from someone who plays
Pro Harps and finds that the 5 hole reeds fail.  The response offered
was that frequent 5 hole bending, while indeed possible, will shorten 
the life of the reeds.  

> > Emma,
> > 
> > I noticed that my Pro-harps are fragile on the 5th draw. 
> > Hohner has now a modular system which may solve the problem
> > (I think it is available with Blues-harp).
> > 
> > 		steph
> > 
> Steph,
> 
> 	Are you bending the 5 draw?  That will cause early death in any
> harp.  I generally avoid it.  I don't know why the 5 draw would be more
> harmful.  5 draw and 5 blow are only a half step apart, so 5 draw bend
> is the same note as 5 blow.  I suppose that has something to do with it.
> 
> 	Does anybody have the answer?
> 
And now for something completely different.

George Mayhew