[Harp-L] Valved players unite!

[Paul Bowering <paul_bowering@xxxxxxxxx>]

Because I only discovered this list a few months ago
I've had some 12 years of archives to read up on. All
the things I didn't know were possible all came in
fell swoop. As a result I've been concurrently trying
overblowing, half-valving, altered tunings, etc. While
this has been great fun I soon want to decide which
path to pursue permanently. 

Although uncommitted I'm leaning toward half valving.
I like its expressive possibilities and think I could
get a handle on controlling the bends. There don't
seem to be a lot of players using valves, at least in
comparison to the number of overblowers. Why is this?

 I've had success with overblow but those overdraws
don't seem to hold out much promise for me. The reeds
seem real finicky and getting the note to sound is hit
and miss at best. (As a side note for those also
having this difficulty; try using a spiral tuning
where the blow note is always the lower pitch in any
hole. With this set up I could overblow all ten holes.
Of course this tuning presents its own peculiarities).

Anyway, I'd to hear from folks who've tried both
approaches. Strong opinions are welcome but you should
have at least given each method an honest try.
Ultimately I know it's whatever suits me best but I'm
just lookin for a feedback about benefits and
obstacles you've encountered with each.

Thanks in advance,

Paul B.


		
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