[Harp-L] Re: Trident Reeds

[Rick Epping <rickepping@xxxxxxxxx>]

I made the trident reed by hand, based on a drawing in a book on American
reed organs (similar to harmoniums except that air is pulled through the
reeds by vacuum instead of being pushed through the reeds by pressure) along
with two other versions: a 2-prong version in a Y-shape and a 3-prong
version in cruciform shape.  They were said to be for some kind of specialty
voices for the reed organ.

When set in an accordion the trident reed was louder and more resonant than
an accordion bass reed of similar size and pitch, but not fundamentally
different.  I'd guess that the length of reed edge-to-slot interface may be
directly proportional to the resonance, or strength of upper partials.
Guimbardes/jaw harps rely on strong upper partials to produce a melody,
which may be the reasoning behind the multi-tipped design of some Asian
versions.  My trident reed is not in an accordion at the moment, but I've
uploaded a recording of it played by mouth - not nearly as resonant but it
might give some idea of its sound:

http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B56Y28n7JwtSOGM4MWI3MjktN2NkNC00ZDJlLWE0M2MtOTgyMTA2Yjc0NDkx&hl=en

I tried tuning the prongs of the reed to different notes - intervals above
the fundamental of the whole reed, intervals above or below the other
prongs, but it didn't seem to affect the sound in any way.  So not difficult
to tune at all; a little more or a little less weight on any prong didn't
make any appreciable difference other than to the overall pitch of the reed.

Rick


> Message: 11
> Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:16:59 +0000
> From: pneupco2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [Harp-L] Trident Reeds
> To: Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
> Message-ID:
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>  <1801718110-1264868220-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-896298569-@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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> In addition to his embossed reeds, Rick Epping also had a photo of 'Trident
> Reeds'. What are they for and where are they used? I've never heard of such
> things.
> Regards,
> Paul N.
> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 12
> Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 11:22:54 -0500
> From: Jonathan Ross <jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [Harp-L] re: Slot Embossing and Accordions
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Message-ID: <B3DCD3D3-82B2-4E77-9F19-2F528F0406F7@xxxxxxxxxxx>
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>
> Thank you, Rick, for your post on slot embossing and how it relates
> to accordion techniques.  I found both the description and the use of
> the term "coining" very informative (brilliant word I'd not heard
> before).
>
> But, I have to ask about the trident reed!  It's fascinating.  Where
> is it from and what does it sound like?  I've seen patents for this
> sort of thing, but never encountered one and wasn't aware any were
> actually built.
>
> Interestingly, I've seen South Asian guimbardes/jaw harps with very
> similar designs (three, four  and more tips to the end of the reed)--
> usually on higher-end and better made examples. I wonder how this
> trident design might effect timbre in a free-reed.  I also imagine
> it's a bear to tune.
>
> Thanks again for a very informative post and the link--the coining
> was great to see, but somehow it's hard to avoid that trident reed.
>
>
>
> JR Ross
>
>
>
>