[Harp-L] Of My Budding Attachment To Buddha's Harps

["Bradford Trainham" <bradford.trainham@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

So a couple of weeks ago, whilst in the throes of insomnia, I saw Chris had
posted an ad for some of his custom Golden Melody harps.
On an impulse, I bought two... A c and a d... 
They arrived today.
I was working from home today... And when we do that, our ethics compel us
to be extra mindful of distractions..., of mixing "work" with "home"...
So the afternoon has been a test of ethics, all right. 
But I !!finally!! Opened them up... And...
First, what he says about his work is all true!  These harps do indeed
enhance our playing... 
They are, as he says, "incredibly tight", so if our primary object is to
"honk", we might have to either get a new primary object or honk on such
harps as will more correctly facilitate honking. 
So he says they'll help you with over-blowing... That they are specifically
set up for that. 
I do indeed get "squawkless" over-blows from holes 4, 5 and 6, but better, I
can somehow feel the two parts of what we have to accomplish to successfully
over-blow...  That is, the choking of the "factory-intended" blow note and
the keeping up of the pressure required to get the over-blow note vibrating
and yes, at its proper pitch. 
So the harp seems to at once nudge you toward more physical detail while
seeming to reach for that detail's proper execution. 
(Would he really want me to endorse his products?)
So I'm getting those over-blow notes with less of the inherent sense of
"prep" required for me to get them on my other harps. 
That's good!  It's what he said would happen... But it's not what I like
most about these harmonicas.
What dooms me to be attached to them forever... Is how responsive the draw
bends are on holes 1 and 2. 
He probably didn't mention this feature... Because maybe he resolved it for
himself umpteen life times back and doesn't think about it.
But playing the 1 double and two double-to-tripple, 2-double-to-single bends
on pitch and with atimbre/tone-color resembling the notes going before/after
is my current harmonica hurdle/obsession. 
I'm getting better with the pitch thing, but the notes still stand out more
than I want with a "darker color" than what I want.
(Does it strike you that "darker color" is a dangerous metaphor for a blind
man to be throwing around?)
But with these new harps, I'm getting the pitch with less effort, but even
better, I'm getting that sense of tonal continuity, so that I can now begin
to envision passages without having to worry about one of these my problem
bends coming in the middle of the passage. 
(No, he would !!definitely! Want a more succinct endorsement!)
The other thing about these harps... Is that they somehow seem to insist
they be played in positions beyond our most familiar first and second. 
I don't know if it's that they're responsive, or that their inherent
"tightness" blocks us from excessive orgies of cross-harp "wailing", but I
find myself ending up in third, fourth and twelfth position without having
ever intended to practice those positions. 
The harps have a sound, somehow reminiscent of the chromatic, that is, they
gain one's attention by wit, not swagger.
(He'll never admit to even having sold me these harps now.  How would he
live up to that wit vs swagger thing?)
But lest the emphasis on wit should imply coldness,or cerebral sterility, be
assured, these harps have capacity for emoting.
These harps would seemingly be at home in an orchestral setting... Where
people rein in their beards more often than I do and dress nicer than I
usually choose to dress...  
But we suspect we'll find a latent earthy side to these harps.
   (But in what "earthy" position?)

So I'm still an intermediate level harmonica player...  But I have lots to
try... And the weekend has scarcely begun.
Oh, and for you sighted types, my daughter said... "They're cool
looking."...
So next time Chris says he has harps for sale..., you know what to do,
right?
Brad Trainham
P.S.,
He gave me a generous discount when I bought two...