Re: [Harp-L] would this work?

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

I was conservative in my estimates. Come to think of it, a tuning exists that tunes draw 1 up 2 semitones and Blow 1 down 2 semitones - Carlos Del Junco used it on his tune "B-thing." So on a C-harp you'd have Bb blow and E draw, and you can bend all the way down from E to B - five semitones. Maybe you could stretch this a bit farther, but an octave is beyond the limit. 

Some things that influence how far a reed will bend include: 

- The reed's stiffness (affected by its total length and how much of its total length has added weight that makes it less flexible)

- The reed's gap. A high gap will let it bend down farther (the higher-pitched reed), while a low gap will let it bend up farther in opening mode (the lower pitched reed).
 
Winslow Yerxa
Author, Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
            Harmonica Basics For Dummies, ASIN B005KIYPFS
            Blues Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-1-1182-5269-7
Resident Harmonica Expert, bluesharmonica.com
Instructor, Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance


________________________________
 From: mik jagger <harpomatic@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx> 
Sent: Saturday, September 15, 2012 10:03 AM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] would this work? 
 
A bummer, but Winslow thanks for saving me some "screwdriver time" - I was just about to try it with my lowest and highest harp just to see... So you say that XB40 is pretty much at the limit of practical bendability? Like, going for a lower enabler reed would not do much -  Rick, do you confirm?
Mik.



>>>No, sad to say, it wouldn't work. I've tried it.

Reeds have a limit to how far they will change pitch, usually in the
neighborhood of three semitones up or down. 

So let's say the high F draw reed will bend down to D and the low blow reed will
bend up (in opening mode on a draw breath) to A-flat. That still leaves five
semitones, from A to C#, where the reeds can't meet in pitch. Even if you could
get two more semitones in bending range out of each reed, their pitches would
still fail to meet and collaborate.

Winslow