Re: [Harp-L] Bending Stress in reeds (was Manji Reed Quality)

["Rick Dempster" <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

What's always escaped me Vern, is why a reed plays a semitone higher when it is played with the reverse breath - ie a draw reed played with a blow, or vice versa. Any clues?
RD

>>> Vern <jevern@xxxxxxx> 23/11/2011 16:27 >>>

On Nov 22, 2011, at 4:12 AM, Tom Cox wrote:

>  ........I dont wail and hammer notes with excessive bending.................

The assumption that bending puts extra stress on reeds seems ubiquitous among harmonica players..  

Although extra effort on the part of the player is required to establish the embouchure resonance to bend the pitch, the analogy that extra stress on the player creates extra stress on the reed may not be warranted.

The stress in any reed is purely a function of its vibrational amplitude.  In bending, it is not obvious that either reed vibrates at a greater than normal amplitude.  I think that it is very likely that amplitude is greatest when the embouchure resonance is the same as the un-bent natural resonant frequency of the reed.

I looked again at Dr Bahnson's video on bending.  It shows the reeds as bending takes place. Although I didn't see any extreme deflections, the pictures were not easy to interpret.

Vern






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