[Harp-L] Newby here--add 6 grafs

[philharpn@xxxxx]

Get  a Hohner Big River. Good not too pricey harp. To start with.

AIR Pressure has nothing to do with bending and overblows. It's finesse not force. Bends and overblows can be executed with a whisper because it is the constriction of the base of the tongue against the throat that makes bends possible. If you can whistle different pitches, you can bend notes. (Overblows are just fancy bends.) Whistle a high note and whistle a low note. Pay attention how the base of your tongue shifts. That is how bends are executed. Air pressure or force of the air stream has nothing to do with it. It's the constriction of the tongue/throat which cause the air stream to flow FASTER is what changes the pitch.

Mike is right, Airway size does not determine how well anyone can whistle nor does it affect how well anyone can bend notes. The thing that makes this whistling explanation difficult to understand is few people whistle on the inhale; they mostly exhale whistle. So telling someone to practice whistling on the inhale is difficult to understand.  But just trying an inhale without the whistle -- just an air stream -- will illustrate how the fake whistle and bends work. 
 
As someone else has suggested, get a teacher. Even if the teacher is someone just a little bit better than you. Bending notes is not rocket science. Anyone can do it and thousands have mastered the technique over the years. If you can't find a real live teacher maybe YouTube or Skype will help.

A teacher once told me of a telephone student (before Skype) who was bending notes but putting the tip of the tongue into comb hole. It resulted in a bad partial bend that couldn't be sustained. Once he met the student in person and saw what the student was attempting without much success, the teacher was able to get the student on the right track. 

 But I've always felt that in order to take advantage of of videos -- like or recorded -- requires some basic knowledge and skill. Most of them require skills above a rank beginner. (Now I suppose the Skype teachers will relate how a student who didn't know which end to blow on the harp became

Start with the draw bend on Hole No. 1 because  it has only one bend. Buy yourself a $50 keyboard and match your bend with the Db/C# on the keyboard with your bend. Once you can bend a few notes you are in a position to determine that your original problem was not getting a clean note but a choked note (accidental bend). 
All the bends are easily identifiable on a keyboard. The object is to match the pitch on the keyboard so that you can hit the bent notes dead on; not sliding into them and past them. If you can't play the bent notes on pitch, you're making noise not music.

Give me 6 grafs and make it sing!

Hope this helps



-----Original Message-----
From: Laurent Vigouroux <laurentHarp at xxxxx>
To: 'Lynn wemmer' <fitwoman56 at xxxxx>; 'Michael Rubin' <michaelrubinharmonica at xxxxx>
Cc: harp-l <harp-l at xxxxx>; 'Michelle LeFree' <mlefree at xxxxx>
Sent: Tue, Mar 7, 2017 6:25 am
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Newby here

Hello Lynn

It's true that air pressure is key for playing the harmonica (especially for bends and overbends).
But I would tend to think that the airway of any human being is much, much bigger than what the instrument requires. 
So I don't think the smaller diameter female airway has an impact.

But this is just a guess.

Laurent
www.planetharmonica.com


-----Message d'origine-----
De : Harp-L [mailto:harp-l-bounces at xxxxx] De la part de Lynn wemmer
Envoyé : 6 mars 2017 15:56
À : Michael Rubin <michaelrubinharmonica at xxxxx>
Cc : harp-l at xxxxx; Michelle LeFree <mlefree at xxxxx>
Objet : Re: [Harp-L] Newby here

I'm a nurse and I've been thinkinng about the  anatomy of the smaller diameter female airway vs the larger male airway. Is it logical to expect a petit airway to get different results than a larger airway?

On Mar 6, 2017 9:17 AM, "Michael Rubin" <michaelrubinharmonica at xxxxx>
wrote:

> Lynn,
> Is it a 10 hole harmonica in the key of C?
>
> If so, does 3 draw not sound at all or does it produce a flat sound?
>
> If it does not sound at all something is restricting the reed. Open up 
> the cover plates. The draw reed is on the bottom of the harp. The 
> lower pitches are the longer reeds. Look at reed 3 and see if there is 
> a piece of fizz restricting it. Pull it away.
>
> Whether or not there is a restricting item place your fingernail under 
> the tip of the reed and plink the reed. Does it make a musical sound?  
> Whether or not it does, plink softly 40 times. If at the end of the 40 
> plinks you are not hearing a musical sound something is wrong with the 
> reed that can be fixed with more advanced mechanical work but let's 
> only go there if need be.
>
> Another option which I would recommend in any case would be to buy a 
> second C harp. Any harp over $35 should be fine. Do not be surprised 
> if this solves the problem.
>
> If you are experiencing a lower pitch than you want ( anything lower 
> than the note B on a free smart phone app tuner) welcome to the club. 
> Unless you are an unusual beginner this will be your first big humo for learning.
> Remember it is pnormal and almost everyone experiences this. Expect 3 to 6
> months to work through this issue.   You may get a nice sound today but I
> am taking anout consistently nice.
>
> There is a technique in the harmonica world called bending which means 
> to lower the pitch by altering your embouhure. Because you are a 
> beginner you have a beginner's embochure and therefore are likely to 
> unintentionally bend.
>
> The basic physics of bending say if yoi constrict the airflow the note 
> will go lower in pitch. You therefore need to deconstrict
>
> Lower your jaw.
>
> Lower and flatten your tongue.
>
> Width is the opening of your mouth from cheek to cheek. Keep a narrow 
> width. Say the hard E sound.
>
> Imagine a balloon in your forehead. Send the air to the forehead.
>
> i hope this helps.
> Michael Rubin
> Michaelrubinharmonica.com
>
>
>
> On Mon, Mar 6, 2017 at 6:51 AM, Lynn wemmer <fitwoman56 at xxxxx> wrote:
>
> Thanks, Michelle.  I'll definitely check it out!!
>
> On Mar 6, 2017 7:26 AM, "Michelle LeFree" 
> <mlefree at xxxxx>
> wrote:
>
> > Lynn wemmermwrote:
> >
> > Hello everyone.  I sure could use your help.  I've been playing the
> >> harmonica since December.  I've practiced everyday but one.  But 
> >> even
> with
> >> all this dedication I'm having trouble with the 3 draw.  Once in 
> >> awhile
> I
> >> get lucky and hit it but there's no consistency.  Any helpful 
> >> advice
> would
> >> be much appreciated.
> >>
> >
> > You would benefit greatly if you'd learn to gap your reeds, also 
> > called adjusting the reed offset.
> >
> > Here's video one in a series in which Joe Spiers,one of today's top 
> > harmonica technicians shows how.
> >
> > https://youtu.be/Rh79GaDVmC8
> >
> > Here's Steve Baker's installment on adjusting reed offset from 
> > Hohner's Service Workshop series.
> >
> > https://youtu.be/12cdfpp2Sg0
> >
> > There are many other Youtube videos on the subject. Search for 
> > setting reed gaps or adjusting reed offset (same thing).
> >
> > Greg Jones of Seydel and Andrew Zajac of Hohner also have some 
> > excellent how to videos on this and many other related subjects.
> >
> > Good luck and come back if you continue to have problems or questions.
> >
> > Michelle
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>