RE: [Harp-L] Bending intonation...the regular kind

["MLeFree" <mlefree@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Mike Fugazzi wrote:
...
> Is my tongue supposed to be
> totally flat and out of the equation?  I've always
> used deep breaths and vowel sounds to shape my notes.
> So while my tongue isn't stressed or very contorted,
> it does change shape depending on what pitch I want to
> hit.

In my opinion, the common instruction given to beginners to mimick vowel
sounds to produce bends is a sort of a cheap and dirty "device" to get one
started bending. Mimicking vowel sounds does not produce deep, rich sounding
bends like "back of the throat" bends do. A lot of that is because that
wagging tongue is: 1) impeding air flow; 2) causing air turbulence and
"eddy" currents inside the mouth; and 3) reducing the size of the oral
cavity and making its shape very irregular, both of which diminish its
ability to act as a resonant chamber. Me thinks that the sooner one can move
beyond mimicking vowel sounds to bend, the better harp player one will be.

> >From watching the Howard Levy vid, this seems to be
> normal.
>
> The only description of my tongue I can think of is it
> moves the same when I am using a straw on the regular
> bends.  It does not hit the roof of my mouth.
>
> When I overblow, that is a little more tongue based
> (which would be a bad habit on normal bends).
>
> My conclusion is I need to learn to finess them more
> then I do.  It would be great to have sound samples of
> a really awesome player playing the chromatic scale at
> a slow pace.  Somebody who is spot on with their tone,
> intonation, and timbre.

I agree completely. That would be good to measure one's progress in seeking
better bent tonality (timbre?).

> When I was playing the third pos. scale with Dave
> Barrett via one of his cds, I was surprised on how
> much I sounded like him.  If he's playing them right,
> then I must be ok.  Like I said, the rest of my band
> can't tell the difference, so maybe it is a bigger
> deal in my head then it really is to the ears.

Well Mike, I think I sound exactly like Butter.  ;^)

Good luck with your bent tonality! You are barking up the right tree, fer
sure.

Michelle