Re: [Harp-L] hole sizes

[Michelle LeFree <mlefree@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

first vincent writes:
> Well my newest naive revelation is that the hole sizes are not the
> same on my different harps, even though they are all Hohners.<snip>
>
> This is a pretty major issue in my opinion, since I started and have
> practiced most on the Silverstar, and am having trouble switching to
> the technically superior Blues Harp.  Hole size seems to me a
> fundamental issue in playing, doing one-hole draws, etc.<more snipping>
>    

And then Elizabeth Hess adds:
> Oh, man, I can relate.<snippage>
>
> That said, different hole sizes on different harps is one of those
> realities of life.  With less than two years of playing under my belt,
> I have a mix of two different brands of harp (fewer of the expensive
> ones, more of the moderately-priced ones) and they have different hole
> sizes.  My way of coping with this has been learning to play mostly
> with the tongue-block embouchure.  I can  *feel*  the holes with my
> tongue, and so I don't have to calibrate my moves up and down the harp
> so precisely.  But then, I can get deeper and better bends on hole 2
> with the pucker embouchure, and can't get blow bends at all reliably
> with tongue blocking (though I believe it can be done).  So I've worked
> almost as hard at  *switching*  embouchures on the fly as I have at
> playing with each embouchure separately.<brutal snipping>
>    

Well, Vincent and Elizabeth, I'm going to give you an answer you may not 
want to hear. That is, don't sweat the ~little~ stuff in your initial 
forays into "harmonicology." There are too many vastly more important 
things to learn than being able to play harps with different hole 
spacings. Your insensitivity to hole spacing will come with time. Before 
you realize it, it will soon be automatic. For example, I can play harps 
with any spacing, from the little "necklace" toys to varying brands and 
styles of "good" diatonics and tremolos within just a moment or two of 
picking one up. If you are sensitive to hole spacing now, put the ones 
that give you trouble aside and concentrate on the far more important 
aspects of your harmonica technique, like breathing properly from the 
diaphragm, bending accurately on different key harps, learning different 
embouchures and as Elizabeth points out, switching seamlessly back and 
forth between them.

As you progress with your basic technique, you can add exercises to 
become more precise in jumping over increasing numbers of holes around a 
harmonica with the byproduct of becoming less sensitive to hole spacing. 
I learned a great exercise from PT Gazell, one of the most "precise" 
harpers out there. He teaches an exercise in which you start at the 
bottom end and jump first one hole, then back to the bottom, and then 
jump two holes and back to the bottom, then repeat with a three-hole 
jump and so on, jumping farther and farther up the harp. Then do the 
same exercise starting at the top end and jumping down one, then two, 
then three holes and so on. Then start in the middle and jump down, 
return to the middle and jump up, etc. Push yourself to get faster and 
faster and more and more accurate. You'll soon be able to identify where 
you need more work, and you can devise similar exercises to overcome any 
particular difficulty. Soon you will find yourself jumping freely around 
any harmonica with ease.

Good luck and let us know how you do. :-)

Michelle