Re: [Harp-L] Re: 7-10

["Bob Laughlin" <rlaughlin@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dunno, but some of this makes complete sense to me. I'll have to try it,
though I'm not using XB-40's.

I think it may also be related to your comment about having "decent gaps".

Whatever I'm doing just isn't getting it, no matter how I work at it. One
hole works, the one next to it doesn't. It's like I have to use a different
technique on every hole, and even that doesn't work. I really suspect some
of my reeds need some gap work. It's inevitable, I suppose, that I need to
learn to gap properly, or have them worked on.

It's a bit surprising that so many here haven't even mentioned gapping,
during all this discussion, when otherwise gapping seems a big subject on
harp-l.

Maybe it's just that old tendency to want to "show people how to do it", at
a distance. "I'll show ya,,,". "I had a hard time with that too,,",,etc.

Gusso talks about gapping out of box harps.

Ricci talks about gapping out of box harps.

But as soon as I mention that I'm having difficulty with the top holes,
everyone assumes I've got harps that arrived perfectly gapped from the
factory. What's the probability of that?

Darn experts.

BL
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joe Spiers" <joemopar@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2008 10:52 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] Re: 7-10


> One path to sweet tone, vibrato and technical control (including
> overdraws) of higher notes is described in this post by Rick Epping:
>
> http://www.harp-l.com/pipermail/harp-l/2006-September/msg00235.html
>
> I totally tongueblock the upper register including overdraws, 10 hole
> half step bends and overdraws, even on the high G. It took almost a
> year to learn how to TB the blowbends, after already having them with
> the U-block. McBee told me that's how he does it, but couldn't tell me
> how, so I kept trying....and trying.... for well over an hour a day
> for several months until I got the first one. I feel it was worth the
> effort- not only for the bends but for tone. I spent many, many hours
> driving with that recording of Mitch Kashmar and William Clarke,
> rewinding the cassette and listening to/playing with the harp solo,
> trying to get that vibrato.
>
> Rick talks about tuning your resonance to the pitch an octave lower
> than the desired note in the 10th hole of the higher key XB40s. I
> recalled the post while reading this thread, and after re-reading it
> paid close attention to what I'm doing in the top end. I'm pretty sure
> it's the same technique, and it works well for me. It's also how I
> play overblows. It feels more solid to me than squeezing them toward
> the front of your mouth, or trying to suck out the overdraws. You just
> tune your resonance, and inhale or exhale with the diaphragm- it's
> that easy (ha ha:)). For example, play the 4 draw bent with resonance,
> and without changing anything in your mouth try the 7 overdraw. The
> blow bends and overbends feel like they're focused somewhere around or
> behind the tonsils to me. Also, the tone/timbre sounds more natural.
> You don't need a custom harp to do this, just decent gaps. I wouldn't
> think it ultimately matters if you TB or whatever, but that's what led
> me to it.
>
> YMMV, but I hope it helps someone.
>
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