[Harp-L] Optimizing diatonic reeds for bending

[Captron100@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 1/14/2008 11:26:59 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx writes:

Excellent, lucid post, Winslow.  I  might be asking your permission to put it 
on my website, with due credit given  of course... ;-)
Steve


> The lower-pitched reed in the hole goes up in pitch as a bend  rises in 
pitch, and as the pitch goes up, the reed pulls farther away from the  reedplate 
(you can see this when you play a reedplate with your mouth and watch  it in a 
mirror.) Getting a slightly lower gap can give it a longer travel before  it 
gets too far away from the reedplate to swing through the  slot.


 
I am always impressed with the knowledge Winsow possesses and with all the  
time he takes to share, as in this case.  But he lost me in the above  
paragraph.  Standard bends lower in pitch, not rise.  With the  greatest of respect, i 
think this could use an edit; perhaps an example.   If I've been playing 40 
years and it is confusing, I doubt if i am the  only one.  Perhaps i am too 
tired, but if i don't reply now, i'll forget in  the morning.
  Also, someone else remarked about different opinions of what  "gently" 
means when stroking a reedslot when embossing.  Each harp has  different 
tolerances depending on the machine that stamps the slot (i  assume they are stamped?) 
and other factors, such as the placement of the reed  in the slot.  If the 
tolerances are great, more pressure is needed to  squish the reedplate material 
to reduce the tolerances.  I would advise to  plink very frequently, so that u 
hear the buzz as soon as a reedslot is starting  to close up too much.  At 
that point, realigning the reed often helps, as  do other tricks I've learned on 
this list.  Thanks all.
ron
 



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