Re: [Harp-L] "Harp Preparation" Prior to a Gig

["Steve Shaw" <moorcot@xxxxxxx>]

> No beer: makes my tongue feel "fat" from the salt.

..tough one if it's free......

> No sugar drinks like pepsi: sugar in the saliva gums up the reeds 
> sometimes.

..brings forth too much saliva too.

> I eat at least 2 hours before playing so I don't feel loaded during the 
> gig.

..and sweet peppers, cooked or raw, are best avoided altogether.  We played 
in a restaurant for Burns Night on Tuesday, and at 9.30 I was confronted by 
a huge plate of haggis, swede and mash which it would have been insufferably 
rude not to eat.  I'd already eaten before going out.  I've never had to sit 
so bolt upright to play in my life.

> a quick, quiet blow on the harps to test them. If they're is something 
> wrong
> I pull a harp in that key from my back-ups and put the unusable one in my
> coat for repair at a later date. I always carry (3) of each key for such
> contingencies.

..SP20s seem  prone to drift out of tune very slightly.  My older ones often 
need one or two reeds adjusted a few cents.

> trim my mustache

..especially if playing Lee Oskars or, I've recently discovered, XB40s.  If 
you've failed to carry this vital step you'll need Kleenex to wipe the tears 
from your eyes.

Steve


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