Re: [Harp-L] Visualizing the Harp Layout

["John Kerkhoven" <solo_danswer@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jazmaan asked:
>  What do you all "see" in your minds when you're playing?

I'm not sure I *see* anything most of the time, but every now and then I
understand the harmonica better in a visual way. What follows is a collage
of insights. It may all sound like harp 101, and may betray my own stumbling
development more than anything, but here goes. Talking about a standard out
of the box diatonic harp.

Three octaves. Ten holes. Nineteen notes without bends. 37 (or 38) notes
with draw bends, blow bends, overblows and overdraws.

In the first two octaves, the draw reeds are higher in pitch than the blow
reeds, in the third octave, the blow reeds are higher in pitch than the draw
reeds. There's a flip in the third octave.

In the first octave, the default notes are the tonic of the key of the harp,
then up a tone to the 1-draw, then up a tone again to the 2-blow, then up 3
semitones to the 2-draw. Then it's up two full tones to the 3-draw, then a
half step to land on the tonic on the 4-blow.

We all know this, but ... as I pay attention to it I am becoming more
sensitive to the intervals and developing a better sense of where I want to
go at a given point in my playing. I think it was Bonfiglio who commented
one time that the diatonic for cross harp playing has the theory built into
it. That's a simplification, I think I can safely say, but one with a fat
kernel of truth in it. (Bonfiglio knows more than I ever will about such
things, so I offer my apologies to him in case this exposition makes him
sudder.)

I want to know what the musical space is between the 2-blow and the 2-draw.
I don't want to think "I'm playing third position so I need to hit the 2
fully bent", I want to think "Where do I want to go from here?" If I've just
played the 2-blow, do I want to reach up to the 2-draw, or a half-step up,
or a full step up? The same applies to any interval on the harp, be it
between the full three step draw on the 3 to the 3-draw, or be it between
the 2-draw and the 6-blow or anything else.

I spent a good hour last week working on the first 30 seconds of Dave
Therault's version of The Deb. There was also a bit of discussion some weeks
(months?) ago about Take Five. Both of these require some nimble movement in
the first octave of the harp and a good feel for semi-tonal shifts (and no
doubt other things I don't yet have words for).

I just read Mike Fugazzi's post which I can relate to. We're on different
tangents in our posts, but I hear you Mike. I *know* what you mean about the
Ego -- you hit that space and then you think "I'm in that space" and then
you're not in that space. I'm talking here more about my time in the
woodshed.

Maybe it's a good time to stop and let others have a say.

Cheers,

John
Montreal