Quest for tone - was bends physics and physical

[Pierre <slavio@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hate to ask about tone since its always comming up but I'm still not clear
on tone and all that can be done to achieve it. Ok now Tim said:

 It really is all about resonance and sympathetic vibration.  The
> player changes the size and shape of the resonnant cavity of the
> mouth which results in a change in pitch of the vibrating reed.

Also I've read that:

tone requires relaxed mouth/throat/... (not everyone seems to agree on this)
tone can be improved by getting the column of air to vibrate
tone can be improved by increasing (or varying) the size of the cavity
(using diaphram etc.)
Vibrato can improve your tone (how is unclear to me by the way?)
oh yeah, and great tone does not come from a mic or an amp

Ok lets start with the result I want. I want to be able to play with a clean
mic and amp and on occasion be able to dirty up my sound so it sounds like a
dirty growl.
The thing I have a tough time with is the concept of getting the the column
of air to vibrate. I remember posts about Kargiraa and I can do Kargiraa
like sounds with my throat to some extent. But this is all done in exhale
mode. Is it possible to do any kind of throat scraping while inhaling? Is
that what people do? Does such a growl require distortion or can it be done
at a low volume? is it resonance and amplitude that creates a growl? how is
one supposed to get the entire column of air to vibrate?

Pierre.









- ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tim Moyer" <wmharps@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2004 10:41 AM
Subject: Re: Bends: physics and physical


>
> paul wrote:
> > So while I spent those hours trying to evoke a bend, I would ponder
> > what the heck is going on that causes a bend. I understand the
> > sympathetic resonanance of the opposing reed causes the bend, but
> > why are some notes bent, and others bent to varying degrees?
>
> Thanks to Pat Missin for pointing to the research papers that have
> been published on the subject of how bends are achieved.  I think
> some of the misconceptions held by players have to do with the
> term "bend" referring to the alteration of pitch of the note.
> Calling the process a "bend" implies either that the angle of attack
> of the airflow has been altered or bent, or that the reed is somehow
> physically changed or bent in the process.
>
> The fact that you can achieve a bend through a soda straw indicates
> that angle of airflow isn't a factor.  Many players also feel that
> because they typically achieve their first bends at high air
> pressures means that it take a lot of air to "bend" the reed
> physically, but this is also not a good assumption.  With practice,
> bends can be attained at very low volume (amplitude).
>
> It really is all about resonance and sympathetic vibration.  The
> player changes the size and shape of the resonnant cavity of the
> mouth which results in a change in pitch of the vibrating reed.  In
> the case of a two-reed chamber, this can cause the opposing reed to
> vibrate sympathetically, which allows the pitch to be changed
> further.  The amount that the pitch can be changed is a function of
> the natural pitch of the sympathetic reed.  In holes which allow only
> a slight amount of pitch change (say, hole 5), the two reeds are
> tuned only a semitone apart (allowing less than a semitone of pitch
> change).  In holes in which a large amount of pitch change is
> possible (like hole 3) the reeds are tuned four semitones apart
> (allowing about 3 semitones of pitch change).
>
> If any of this is to be helpful when learning to control bends,
> perhaps it is in the visualization of the size and shape of the mouth
> cavity while practicing.  Try bending at lower and lower air
> pressures and you'll find that it really is a matter of finesse over
> force.
>
> -tim
>
> Tim Moyer
> Working Man's Harps
> http://www.workingmansharps.com/
>
>
> --
> Harp-l is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
> Hosted by ValuePricehosting.com, http://www.valuepricehosting.com