Re: [Harp-L] any advice on gapping for bend control?

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

It could be how the harp is set up or it could be how you're bending.

First, let's talk about technique. I'm a little in the dark because I 'm not sure what you mean when you use the term "air redirection." KNowing how you describe this term might help.

That said, there is a clue when you say that at a certain point you just get air moving and no sound. 

Here's why. You bend a note by tuning your mouth to a note that is within the range that is possible to bend that note. If you tune your mouth to a note that is just outside the bending range for that reed (too high or too low),  you'll get result that might be squeals, annoying ringing sounds, or that air-but-no-note result that you describe. If you get too far away from the bending range, the reed won't be affected and will just sound the normal.

What this tells me is that whatever you're doing, you need to either slow way down as you move from all-the-way-bent to unbent, or even go in the opposite direction.

But let's say it's the harp. Cold it be that the Suzuki is just different enough to offer a challenge? Before tryinh to alter the harp, why not instead try making your technique more versatile.

But let's say the harp actually needs some gapping. Hole 3 is the hardest hole to adjust because the pitches of the blow and draw reeds are so far apart, and both reeds affect bending.

Let's say you decided to try gapping anyway. Then you need three things:

1) Understanding what the gap - or, better word, profile - is. It's not just the gap at the tip of the reed. It's also how close the base of the reed is to the reeplate, and the curvature as the base of the reed rises to the tip - all of which you can see when you look at the reed in profile.

2) Knowing how to change the profile of a reed. There's plenty of good information on that. I describe it in Harmonica for Dummies, and Richard Sleigh does it in his excellent new book, Turbocharge Your Harmonica Volume 1- Straighten Up and Tune Right.

3) Finding the right adjustment of blow and draw reed profiles that will make the harp bend easier. This takes experimenting, although you might want to take your other harps that bend well as examples. Chances are you'll end up with a blow reed that's set to an overall lower profile and a draw reed that's set to an overall higher profile, but that's just an educated guess.

Winslow

Winslow Yerxa

Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5

--- On Wed, 9/30/09, Shaun doesnotprovideidentifyinginformation <planetofthebrainslugs@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

From: Shaun doesnotprovideidentifyinginformation <planetofthebrainslugs@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] any advice on gapping for bend control?
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2009, 2:29 PM

I got me a new suzuki harp, only to find I can't control the bends on
the 3 draw like I can with my marine bands. I only seem to be able to
get the deepest bend. Less air redirection and I just get silence, or
at best very low volume, less air redirection still and I'm straight
into the unbent note. As I can get the bends easily with my other harp
of the same key, I'm wondering if it's how the harp is set up, rather
than (or as well as ) my technique. I don't have much experience in
reed adjustment though. Does anyone have any tips as to whether, and
how, I should adjust the gapping to get better control over these
bends? Reading online articles about gapping has just left me feeling
more confused, and I'm finding the problem really frustrating when
playing, so I would really appreciate any thoughts or input anyone
might have.
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