Re: [Harp-L] Re: Searching for Half-Valved Players

[Ken Hildebrand <airmojoken@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Brendan,

I need to replace the windsaver valves on my CX-12
(Tenor C), because they got ruined (curled and
twisted)
from when I was warming it up next to a heater last
winter (got sidetracked and left it there too long--
won't do that again!).

What would the half-valve setup be for my CX-12 (blow
and draw holes to valve) ?

I have some ultrasuede material that I am also going
to use to half-valve a diatonic harp or two (the way
PT Gazell showed me), so I will probably try the
ultrasuede valves on the CX-12.

I would like to try the half-valve setup since I need
to replace the valves anyway.

Thanks for your help!

Ken H in OH


--- Brendan Power <bren@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Good to hear of players taking the half-valved
> harmonica seriously. I'm
> a long-term acolyte: I started half-valving my
> diatonics in the mid
> 80's, and soon after did the same with chromatics;
> all my recordings are
> on half-valved harps, diatonics and chromatics.
> Suzuki's ProMaster
> MR350-V, the first commercial half-valved diatonic,
> was a result of my
> suggesting the idea to Suzuki. 
>  
> After getting used to the beautiful expressiveness
> of the half-valved
> diatonic, it is very hard to go back to playing an
> un-valved harp. The
> lower 7 blow notes and upper 4 draws can be given
> vibrato and bending
> effects, which I really miss on an un-valved harp.
> However, using a
> half-valved diatonic for fully chromatic playing is
> another kettle of
> fish. On a diatonic, I use half-valving for
> expression, not
> chromaticism. Getting the bend down to pitch is not
> too bad, but hitting
> a valved bend in tune, stable and sounding nice is
> very hard, and for me
> the results are too nasty to be practically usable.
> Knowing how hard it
> is, I appreciate the efforts of those who try this
> route - especially PT
> Gazell. It would be interesting to hear your
> experiences of using valved
> bends, PT.
>  
> However, I feel there is a better way to go: the
> half-valved chromatic.
> Chromatics need to be intrinsically very airtight
> and preferably in
> alternate tunings (where every blow and draw reed is
> at least a tone
> apart) to really suit half-valving. But when it's
> set up right, in my
> opinion the half-valved chromatic is the best
> all-round harp in terms of
> combining expressiveness and real usable
> chromaticism. 
>  
> Even on a Solo-tuned chromatic you can half-valve
> every odd-numbered
> hole (1,3,5,7,9,11) to get semitone draw bends,
> though it's best to
> leave draw valves on holes 4 and 8, and on hole 2
> and perhaps 6. For
> those familiar with Richter tuning, Hohner's
> half-valved Slide Harp is
> available, though it is sadly not nearly as airtight
> as it should be.
> With customisation it works a lot better, and better
> half-valved Richter
> chroms can be made using the larger holes of the
> cross-style slider.
> Diminished and Whole-Tone tuning are great on
> half-valved chromatic, as
> you get a lot of enharmonics using slide or bent
> notes, and you can
> think up an infinite range of other tunings that
> would also suit. 
>  
> Though I love the half-valved chromatic, there are
> very few serious
> players. Apart from the fact there is no good
> off-the-shelf half-valved
> chrom available, there are two reasons, I think:
> Traditional chromatic
> players are used to the sound of valves on all holes
> (many of the old
> school wouldn't want to bend notes anyway), and
> Howard Levy's pioneering
> work on overblow diatonic has given diatonic players
> a way to achieve
> chromaticism whilst retaining the traditional
> unvalved diatonic. 
>  
> Both instruments and approaches have their strengths
> and appeal, and I
> love hearing great players using either approach,
> but to me the
> half-valved chromatic gives the best of both worlds:
> all chromatic notes
> easy to obtain and in tune, as well as diatonic-type
> bending on half the
> notes, giving many enharmonics (and therefore
> alternate phrasing
> options), and lots of expression.
> 
> Brendan
> WEB: http://www.brendan-power.com
> <http://www.brendan-power.com/>  
> 
>  
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