Re: [Harp-L] wierd bending?

[Michael Rubin <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx>]

I do find certain harps can blow bend on 1 thru 6 and certain ones can draw
bend on 7 thru 10.    It is inconsistent throughout my harps and only the
draw bend seem in any way usable.  I am sorry if my videos misled you, it
is possible to bend all over a regular harp, just not on every harp and it
happens very rarely, too rare too mention imo.

I would buy a few new harps and try them.  If you can do it consistently,
you've got something worth researching.  Stop looking at your valved harps,
the valving is what is causing it.  What key and model are your non valved
harps that are blow bending?  Buy new ones in the exact same key and
model.  If they blow bend, buy new ones in the same key, different model.
If they work, buy the model you like and buy lower and lower harps until
they do not blow bend, then buy higher and higher harps.  Then make a video
with your findings.  Personally, I'd like to see the video now.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com




On Mon, Dec 24, 2012 at 8:04 AM, karen mass <kdmass7@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> okay, a little more information:
>
> two of the harps do have valves on blow holes 1 - 7 (inside, bottom
> plate).  two of them do not.
> three of them are hohner blues harps, one is a hohner marine band.
> i have tried blow bending (not overblowing) other notes, but i really
> didn't pay that much attention to them because i knew i was supposed to be
> able to do it according to michael rubin's tutorials.
> as far as i can tell, it doesn't require as much control to blow bend the
> first four holes as it does to draw bend hole 2 both a half step and a
> whole step, or to draw bend hole 3 to all three half steps.
> the low four hole blow bends do tend to choke out, but it took me very
> little playing around to get it pretty consistent.
> by the way, i have almost no experience bending chromatics.  i come from a
> harmonicats legacy and bending isn't that commonly used. i was also chord
> player for jerry murad in some of his later years, and really didn't do
> that much on chromatic.
>
> i do have to tilt the harmonica down (mouthpiece up) quite a ways to get
> the low four hole draw bends, and that was when and how i found the blow
> bends.
>
> i have no way of finding out if any other modifications were made to these
> harps as they were acquired as part of an estate and the person who would
> know has passed on.
>
> iowaplayer
>