Re: Re: [Harp-L] still learning to overblow...
What is turbo tape and where can one buy it?
Marvin Fleischman
>>> "Tim Moyer" <wmharps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 9/12/2007 9:46 AM >>>
MARVIN Fleischman wrote:
> Yes, what is the "closing reed"? Is it a particular reed and if
> so, which one?
On a diatonic harmonica, the blow reeds are generally mounted on the
inside of the (upper) plate, while the draw reeds are mounted on the
outside of th e(lower) plate. When you BLOW air through any
particular hole, the blow reeds "close" or move closer to the plate
and through the reed slot, while the draw reeds open, or move away
from the plate. Of course, when you DRAW air through any hole, the
draw reeds close toward the plate and through the slot, while the
blow reeds open away from the plate.
Generally, it's the closing reeds that sound, but in an overblow on
holes 1 - 6 the technique is to blow so as to "choke" the closing
blow reed and allow the opening draw reed to sound instead. On
overdraws of 7 - 10, the the technique is to draw so as to choke the
closing draw reed and allow the opening blow read to sound instead.
In the case of the use of nail polish or beeswax at the rivet end of
the reed or turbo tape to prevent squealing, it is used most
effectively on the closing reed, which would be 1 - 6 blow and 7 -
10 draw.
In my personal experience, nail polish is a lot of work because it
causes pitch changes that vary over time. You have to allow the
polish to cure completely, then make sure you exercise the reed
extensively before doing the final tuning. The cured polish
initially causes the reed to rise significantly in pitch, and it
then falls again as the reed is exercised. This is particularly
challenging on higher pitched reeds. Turbo tape might cause an
initial pitch change when it's applied, but it tends to be more
stable over time. That said, on my own Asian harps I do both.
-tim
_______________________________________________
Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l
This archive was generated by a fusion of
Pipermail 0.09 (Mailman edition) and
MHonArc 2.6.8.