Tony Rovello's Questions



TO: internet:harp-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tony Rovello asks about a flatted-out Draw 5 and about vibrato.

Hohner won't replace individual reeds. They may replace whe whole
harp, but the last time I checked the guarantee statement, note
bending was specifically moentioned as something that would void
a warranty.

You could learn to tune your harps. You could also ease up -
bends don't have to be hit hard, and you can get plenty of volume
by working on your resonance without using a lot of breath. And
yes, the Hohner Blues Harp is not the most durable harp known to
humankind.

About the vibrato thing, you mention two distinct techniques. One
is rapidly alternating two neighboring holes (any two holes - but
3/4 and 4/5 are probably the most common) by moving the harp from
side to side. Some players call this a trill (which is musically
inacccurate), or a shake, or a warble. This is a standard part of
blue technique, but it isn't vibrato. SOme players do this by
moving the hands holding the harp from side to side, and some
players hold the harp steady and move their heads, or both, or
either. Head movement can be hurtful to the neck, but is more
showy. Hand motion gives more control, but can be awkward if
you're holding a microphone. Try 'em both.

Throat vibrato can be achieved by something resembling a light
cough. As a kind, did you ever imitate the sound of a machine gun
by going "EH! - EH! -EH! - EH!" real fast? Try it, it's a little
like light coughing. Try it while playing a harmonica note and
you'll get a rapid series of staccato notes - again, like a
machine gun.

You can back off this a little, so that instead of completely
stopping the notes, you just make them pulsate a little. On draw
notes, you can actually get the note to bend a little as it
pulsates, getting a light sob.

Controlling the speed of the vibrato can improve it immensely. A
fast, braying vibrato, to me at least, is pretty ugly. I like to
make my vibrato lock in rhythmically with the beat. For instance,
on a shuffle, the beat divides evenly in 3 parts. If you can set
your vibrato at 3 per beat, you can just play one note and fatten
up the sound of the band incredibly. As you noted, this can be
very effective when intriduced at a certain point int he
progression. Try practicing you vibrato with a metronome on long
held notes.


Winslow Yerxa
Harmonica Information Press
Z
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