[Harp-L] re: Lo D Auto Valve Triple Reed Harmonica

[Jonathan Ross <jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Excellent playing, Richard.  I really enjoyed that.  Ignoring the extra bends for the moment, the timing and timbre were fantastic--a great example of how to maintain the groove throughout, even when soloing.

It's also clear you are getting very good at using those new bends.  I just got a D SUB30 and one of my first thoughts was, "Low D would be even better", but I usually think that when playing a normal D harp, so...


But, this also gives me a chance to engage in some absolutely pointless diversions about naming things:).

I've seen you and others use "triple reed" to describe these, and I the more I thought about it the less it seemed to work, IMO.  A long winded explanation is this: we already refer to Richter diatonics and chromatics as "single reed" harmonicas.  Similarly, we call tremolo and octave harps  "double reed" harmonicas.  It seems like the defining feature for this distinction (single-reed vs. double-reed) is the not the number of reeds in a cell, nor even the number of reeds producing the sound per se, but the number of distinct pitches being produced.  Both tremolo and octave harmonicas produce two pitches when played normally (you can play just one row or reed-plate, but that's not the intent of the design, more a nice feature).  But, with single-reed harmonicas you are always just producing a single pitch, even when two reeds are involved as in double reed bending.  And in the SUB30, XB-40 or your Altered Valve (sorry for the pun) you still have only a single pitch produced at a time, as in a single reed harmonica.  But, obviously something else is going on, in that for any bend you get two reeds working and bends are an intended, even defining feature.  So I think you are right that a different name is needed, but "triple-reed" just doesn't feel right to me, in part because it leaves out the related XB-40 or any future harps that might use enabler reeds both blow and draw.  

My suggestion might be to use Rick Epping's "enabler reed" term for this entire family instead.  Perhaps a distinction could be made between "single enabler" and "double enabler" ie the thirty reed design of the SUB30 and the forty reed design of the XB-40, with your hybrid design being in the "single enabler reed" family.

This, of course, is all pointless and if people decide to use "triple reed" than "triple reed" it will be, but I like pointless discussions of harmonica terminology.

Thanks again for the video--a nice gift for the weekend.




JR Ross