Re: [Harp-L] Cups--a variant

[Spschndr@xxxxxxx]

With a lower-pitched diatonic (maybe B or Bb on down), the plastic cap from a 
liquid laundry detergent jug can be a useful tool for practicing mic 
technique for Chicago-style amplified playing.  Many brands are the right diameter to 
mimic a bullet shell, and when you have it fully cupped up, you can hear 
whether you're getting good resonance and tone on your lower notes because the 
whole cup vibrates with it; when you open your hands, it kicks the resulting 
higher freqs right back at you, nicely dramatizing the changes in tone so you can 
gauge your control of that.  It can be more fun/satisfying to practice with 
than an unplugged mic, if you need or want to practice relatively quietly without 
turning on an amp; it sorta localizes the compressed/distorted/resonant tone &
 variations right around your face and saves electricity.  Works with a 
chromatic as well.  

It's not exactly like what comes out of an amp--there's an element of that 
bar-glass acoustic wah to the sound when you open your hands--but it's good for 
practice purposes because it sounds better the better you're playing.

I use the Arm & Hammer brand detergent these days because their cap's the 
right diameter and doesn't have any ridges or flanges around it (a lot of brands 
do); I just rinse the cap & recycle the jug every time I finish one, and now 
I've got several caps scattered around the house at work/relaxation stations 
and have given several more away to friends (one guy actually worked out a way 
to rig a mic inside his, he likes it so much).   No commercial affiliation, 
just the right size/shape of cap for my hands and the detergent works fine.  
Clean laundry and harmonica practice are Good Things.

Stephen Schneider