Re: [Harp-L] Diatonic/chromatic

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx" wrote:
<And yes, I know I've said this all before, but i guess I just like hearing myself <talk (no surprise there to anyone whose been on the list a while).

I don't mind hearing it again, especially since I agree 100% with 90% of it.

I use overblows a lot more frequently than I used to--I've even learned to get overblows on stock Lee Oskar harps. But there is a limit to what you can do with one, and I don't push myself past those limits.  I don't, for example, play a line that features an overblow in an exposed place where its timbral differences are easily heard.

As the originator of the Ode to Joy Challenge--which asks players to produce a timbrally even reading of Beethoven's theme in 2nd position on the bottom octave of the harp, a challenge so far unmet--I agree also that these limitations apply to any note played with modified pitch, not just overblows, and for the reason JR describes; it's a matter of mechanics, and different mechanics produce different timbres.

Players are of course welcome to do as they please.  But the audience is never influenced or impressed by the player's manipulation of the instrument; what the audience cares about is how the music sounds.  And the audience notices when the music sounds off-key or colorful in an uncontrolled way, no matter how much skill the player thinks he or she is applying to the instrument.

Part of Howard Levy's genius is that he makes you forget the mechanics entirely--all you hear when he plays is music. Most players can't do that while they're straining against the physical limitations of the instrument.

Overblows are here to stay.  But they're not yet a reliable  path to fully musical chromatic playing on the diatonic.  As time goes by, it looks increasingly like they may never be, given that--as JR notes--players are still struggling with the basic issues that were in evidence 20+ years ago.

Regards, Richard Hunter




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