[Harp-L] Re: play hard/ have fun

["Jonathan Metts" <jonathan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Who really cares about blowing out reeds and having to buy new harps."

Anyone who plays custom harps or does any work on their own harps should be
very wary of such advice.  A good harmonica will last indefinitely as long
as you don't play it too hard and don't knock it around and keep it
relatively clean.  If you are paying $150 per harp and/or investing several
hours of painstaking work into each one, such maintenance is well worth it.
In fact, many worthwhile harp modifications are aimed at making the
instrument louder so that you don't have to play it so hard.

There is a difference between playing passionately/energetically and using
more air.  It's natural to couple these things, and it takes practice to
play emphatically without going overboard with the air pressure.  If you go
crazy during a solo and blow/draw as hard as you can, not only will you ruin
the harp but your tone and intonation will also suffer as your body tenses
up and works harder to do what the harmonica should do naturally.  Playing
harmonica is already physically taxing without applying unnecessary air
pressure.  The most intense, fastest, energetic player I know is Jason
Ricci, and he plays extremely softly at any speed because his harps are loud
and very expensive.

Jonathan Metts
Boulder, CO