Re: [Harp-L] Hohner reeds and how not to choke

[David Payne <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

  As usual, Mike, your keyboard spews nothing but pure genius... I think probably the 5 draw gets it harder than anything, I notice a lot of folks bending the 5 draw like they do the adjacent notes when the 5 draw can't go anywhere. 

  Dave
  _________________________
Dave Payne Sr. 
  Elk River Harmonicas
  www.elkriverharmonicas.com 
   
  
diachrome@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> There should be some clarification when we talk about Hohner reeds. 
> I think the term "thinner" gives the impression the reeds are not as thick as 
> before and therefore will be more brittle.
>
> The reeds are actually narrower but that is roughly from the middle to the tip 
> and only slightly. A narrower reeds' tip requires less air to get the reed to 
> vibrate. If we use bending methods we use with older stock harps then yes the 
> reeds will fatigue faster. The same is true for custom harps that have been set 
> up to bend easier. The failure starts in the bend not the blow. 
>
> The mfg's and customizers try to make it easier for us to play, but we acquire 
> bad playing habits along the way then assume they are the cause of early reed 
> failure.
>
> I didn't like the newer reeds when I first started working on them last winter 
> but once I became accustomed to them I no longer think about it now. There is a 
> learning curve to everything in life. How fast we adjust is up to us.
>
> I know a local guy that sucks out a reed out every couple of years. He has been playing close to 40 years yet I 
> can hear he never learned good playing techniques. He doesn't understand the 
> mechanics that you only need to bend so far to get the lowest bend note then 
> everything else is extra stress on the reed. You can hear him hit bad notes 
> because he is still playing the harp after the reed goes flat from fatigue. He 
> continues to play it until it bends down in the slot or worse yet breaks off. 
>
> Technically speaking a reed will not play in tune then suddenly snap off. 
> There will be a drop off in pitch first then the gap widens as the reed starts 
> to drop into the slot. Players should play octaves up and down their harps 
> before and after gigs to check the tuning of the harp. Even if you don't have a 
> gig. (This works for both diatonic and chromatic players). Check your octaves 
> when you pull your harps out. The failure could have started the last time you 
> played and not when you picked the harp up to play the first tune on it that night. A heavy beating octave is a dead giveaway of impending reed failure. If a 
> player attacks reeds hard and loud when performing their focus may not be on the 
> notes but on the effect that stressful playing creates when sounding the notes. 
>
> Even new harps can fail the first time out due to poor playing habits. I was a 
> soundman for the first band I was in in my teens in the 70's. . They let me blow 
> harp on Stormy Monday. I blew out a D MB every week just playing one song. 
> Since we didn't have an organist I played the harp like it was a Hammond B3. I 
> didn't realize I didn't need to bend or blow so hard. 
>
> I've seen and heard both pro and semi pro players exert too much effort on the 
> reeds for effect. 
> I set up a custom Marine Band for a pro player a few years ago and had him play 
> it for me. He said he couldn't get the 3 draw to bend. I took the harp and was 
> able to easy produce the lowest bend note and the in between notes. He was so 
> use to being forceful he didn't realize he bent the reed past the point of playability and choked it off. Rather then changing his forceful 
> playing habits he passed on the harp. 
>
> In the end how we choose to play is up to us. What we choose to play based on 
> our habits is up to us. 
> But a harp player in control his/her technique has a better chance of 
> controlling most any harps without premature failure of the reeds. Reed 
> failure is a given. How and when is up to the player.
>
> mike
> harmonicarepair.com
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