Re: Bending

[Bill Long <LONGWJ@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Date: Tue, 27 Sep 1994 15:27:42 -0700
>From: Richard Owen <richardo@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: RE: Bending

[...]
 
>Also, the magic distance of 'a little less than a semi-tone' is because the
>reed starts vibrating at its tuned pitch when you try to get closer, but why
>'a little less than a semi-tone'?  What is special about this interval?

Well, my gut tells me that it has something to do with the interaction of 
the sounding reed's pitch and beat frequency with the other reed in the 
hole.  Beat frequency is that wah wah you hear when you listen to two notes 
that aren't quite in tune.  The closer they get in pitch, the slower the 
beat frequency...but as the notes get farther apart in pitch the beat 
frequency speeds up and becomes harder to detect.  I have a feeling that as 
you bend a note sown toward the other note (in the same hole), and both 
reeds are vibrating, at first the beat frequency is really fast but you get to
a point where the beat frequency is causing destructive interference with the
sounding note and works against that reed's oscillations.

Just a theory.

Bill Long  >--  StarGazer