Re: [Harp-L] looking for a new home...

[Niall Tracey <internationiall@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

 A large part of the difference in sound is down to a difference in mouth shape -- chromatics being the size they are, your mouth is forced into a much more open shape, which favours lower-order harmonics over higher ones.

Try singing the vowels "Ee" and "Oh" on the same pitch.  You might notice that ee has a sort of squeakier, squealier, higher character to it, while "oh" is deeper and mellower in character.  Now think about your mouth shape as you sing the two sounds.  When you sing "oh", you drop your jaw and tongue, whereas you raise both for "ee".  The mouth here is tweaking the harmonics of your vocal chords and it does the same to harmonica reeds.

The problem here is reconciling two dimensions, because in order to get a narrower mouth shape, you have to pucker tighter and hold the harmonica further from your mouth, so most people can't achieve the same mouth shape on both instruments.

Basically, I'd just sit down with a mic and a sound recorder and experiment to see what sounds you can get -- there will be a point that will strike you as the best compromise.
 		 	   		  
 		 	   		  
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