Re: Bending Double Reeds Harps (WAS: Harmonica range)

[Jp Pagan <jpl_pagan@xxxxxxxxx>]

- --- In harp-l-archives@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "BT"
<bulldog483@xxxx> wrote:
> 
> Coast to Coast  said that the double reed Harmonica
cannot be bent ,yet in
> that Kim Wilson NPR interview , it sounded like he
was bending a double reed

Hey BT,

    man, you really threw me for a loop with that one!
i think i figured out what you're talking about
though. someone out there correct me if i'm wrong, but
Kim Wilson never plays a harmonica with double reeds
in that interview (a harmonica with double reeds being
either a tremolo or octave harp, where each note has 2
reeds that play the same note simultaneously).
   Kim does mention though, he's playing one of
Filisko's "Double" harps, which are otherwise normal
(for Joe Filisko ;) marine band harps with
double-thick reedplates. notice i said reed "plates."
the reeds are the same thickness, and there's still
just one reed per note. these you bend just like any
other marine band style diatonic harp. (the extra
thickness of the reedplate gives the reed mroe
distance to swing, meaning the note is louder and
presumably has some different tonal qualities. i
recall them sounding "darker" to me.)
   so yeah, i think that's what you meant.

   oh, and it gets more complicated ;) on some double
reed harmonicas (like tremolo and octave types) you
CAN bend notes. there's a trick to it though. Winslow
Yerxa (he of the patented Discreet Comb) has written
about it and Pat Missin has info on his site about how
to bend double reed harmonicas as well:
http://www.patmissin.com/ffaq/q16.html

  --Jp

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
http://sbc.yahoo.com