Re: [Harp-L] Why am I killing the 4-blow reed so quickly?

[Joe and Cass Leone <leone@xxxxxxxx>]

On Aug 30, 2009, at 8:49 AM, icemanle@xxxxxxx wrote:
>  Leaving a bit of room under your sustained note created through  
> bending technique also allows you to play it truer in tune and  
> gives the space you need to sustain it and add a nice full bodied  
> vibrato.

Vibrato is what is killing the reed. Bending & holding is bad enough,  
but the HEAVY vibrato imparts undue strain because just as the  
molecules are trying to recover, you're forcing them back to where  
they don't want (voluntarily) to be. Reeds that are to be bent  
should  B E  designed for that (tempered). So far, I haven't seen any  
manufacturer take that into consideration. Dr. Henry Bahnson and I  
had spoken of this many times.

smo-joe
>