Re: [Harp-L] small mouth for chromatic

[philharpn@xxxxxxx]

I can reach a 10th on the piano -- which has been the max for many years now. That's because on the piano you can get that reach by touching the edge of the top key. You can't do that on the chrome.


Not the same on chromatic. Part of that has to do with the size of the mouthpiece -- which may be why Hohner came out with the jazz mouthpiece on the CX-12. Personally, I can't tell because I usually don't play octaves on my other CX-12 harps. But I do like the feel of the Jazz CX-12 mouthpiece better.


If you have a solo tuned diatonic, which is usually not as thick as a chrome (more like 10-hole blues harp in thickness) that might offer a solution. I don't have mine close at hand, so I can't test this idea out. 


The other solution is what piano players have always done who can't reach an octave or 10th is roll the notes: play the low note and corner switch to the higher note an octave above it.


The easy way to test how many notes you can comfortably play is by putting scotch tape over the center 3 or 2 and outer holes, marking off a five-hole stretch and four-hole stretch.


And lastly, what nobody has suggested: There may be no solution. For some people it's not possible.


Phil






-----Original Message-----
From: JON KIP <jon@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Mon, Apr 28, 2014 12:20 am
Subject: [Harp-L] small mouth for chromatic


just one question, and I've not been following closely, just noticed the 
thread....

at full stretch of your mouth, with no "pushing hard into the mouth", what's the 
largest number of holes you can comfortably cover..? How many if you stretch?

Like testing your fingers' reach on a piano, how many holes CAN you blow into at 
once?

the distance between the left side of the low c and the top edge of the c one 
octave up is about one and 3/8 inch.
So, if you don't mind my seeming overly personal, what's your actual reach, 
mouth-wise?

"pressing it into your mouth" might not be the best way to look at it, unless 
you understand that it's relaxed, not pushed hard into your mouth.....I'd think 
that tension in some directions would tend to limit the reach, and at some 
point, tension in the mouth can cause the throat to close

IF you truly have a small reach, blame your parents, for sure....and if you're 
recording, just overdub the other octave, and don't feel compelled to put it on 
your liner notes.



On Apr 27, 2014, at 2:01 PM, harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Hi all, I am mostly a diatonic player, but also play some chromatic. I have
> a couple of chromonikas, a swan, and a chrometta 8. I have a problem
> playing them though... my mouth is too small to play octaves on a
> chromatic. I've been told before "ah, your mouth isn't too small, you just
> have to press it in your mouth more." U

jon kip
http://jonkip.com

player of music, mostly written by dead people and played on a toy that 
everybody's Uncle except my nephew's has the good sense to keep safely out of 
sight in a drawer.