Re: [Harp-L] raising a reed's pitch



Although I have to allow as how Leo Diamond was MY absolute  G O D  of chromatic, AND I even have a prezepio (kresh) in the corner of my bedroom dedicated to him, the original track for the movie was done by Jerry Adler, and to be quite honest, I preferred it. This version, while stupendous, is too slow. It should be done to a '2 step beat' or it becomes a drag. Btw: The tune is sometimes known as 'Blue Pacific Blues' and I do it on occasion at the supper club.

smokey-joe  

On Dec 17, 2012, at 6:03 AM, David Payne wrote:

> Here is an example of Leo Diamond, back in the 1950s, doing exactly what you're talking about - bending notes UP on a chromatic. 
> 
>  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBgSDZLLoZM
> 
> Now Leo was a master player. He was also a master customizer. Recordings of Leo are very helpful in kind of getting some vague idea about the history of customizing. One of these interesting facts I learned from audio evidence of Leo is that embossing was done in the 1930s. 
>  The harp he plays here is probably one of the awesome custom chromatics ever made. There's lot of stuff he's done to it... one of these things makes  it possible to bend notes up. What he's done is alter the reference pitch. This harp is probably tuned at A=480 (that was not a typo). It's tuned so sharply that he has to bend every single note down to pitch. If every note must be bent down, then releasing that bend gives you the ability to bend up. 
> 
> 
> 
> David Payne
> www.elkriverharmonicas.com
> www.hetrickharmonica.com
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: Music Cal <macaroni9999@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: harp-L list <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx> 
> Sent: Monday, December 17, 2012 2:49 AM
> Subject: [Harp-L] raising a reed's pitch
> 
> I can bend notes down a half step or so for most reeds of my chromatic
> harmonica. But can one bend notes up, even a little bit? That is, is there
> something like overbends and overdraws for the chromatic harp?
> 
> MusiCal





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