[Harp-L] Evening Harp Thoughts

[Michael Rubin]

The midi costs $600.  After 30 years of playing diatonic harp for a living,
you can estimate I've spent over $40,000 on harp and related equipment.  It
is a drop in the bucket for a cool toy.  At every gig I play, people line
up after the show to talk to me about the midi harp.

As for vibrato:

Draw in and say hoo hoo hoo hoo.  Place the tip of the tongue on the floor
of the mouth about a centimeter behind the bottom  gumline and raise the
back of the tongue as high as possible in an arc.  Aim your airflow up and
down.  Don't start on a vibrato, bring it in.  Don't over do it.  Subdivide
the clicks of a metronome by 12,2s,3s,4s. Expect around 4 years of practice
before it becomes nice to listen to.  I am not being snarky, that's about
average.

Michael Rubin
michaelrubinharmonica.com

On Tue, May 16, 2017 at 9:22 PM, Joseph Leone <3n037 at xxxxx> wrote:

>
> > On May 16, 2017, at 9:27 PM, Leonard Schwartzberg <
> leonard1 at xxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > Harpers:   As you might know, I'm somewhat of a lower intermediate,
> > intermediate... type player, enjoy the BLUES totally, and enjoy
> listening to
> > David Barrett, Madcat, Jake Knows H.., reading Winslow's Blues for
> Dummies
> > (yes, I took your advice and bought the book).
> >
> >
> >
> > Couple of things re:  Cupping/Volume/Dynamics & Throat Vibrato.   I've
> been
> > watching lots of videos and as a rule of thumb I've been closing the cup,
> > closing the sound, on the blow notes, and opening and screaming at the
> make
> > believe audience on the draw bluesy bent notes.    It's really been
> making
> > me much more aware of dynamics and sometimes I honestly feel I get extra
> > free notes because of the difference from cupped and uncapped and loud
> and
> > soft and fluttered and, you get the idea.   Oh well, I guess each of the
> > holes on my Session Steel diatonics almost play 8, 9, 10 or many more
> > different notes or sounds.. Not just the draws and blows and bends.
> Can
> > the Midi, therefore, produce 50 or 100 notes on each hole?   Is that too
> > many?   Listen to some of the real blues greats!!!!   They are great!!!!
> > They make that tiny tin sandwich truly sing.    Bet the Midi can't do
> that..
> > and it costs a grand.
> >
> >
> >
> > On throat vibrato, which I seem to be lousy at, I've been chewing the
> > mouthpiece and therefore producing a good vibrato.   I want to get the
> > vibrato from my throat on the draws, the blows are easy as they sound
> like
> > the rat tat tat of a machine gun.   I can't seem to get good throat
> vibrato,
> > perhaps someone can give me the secret.
>
> Try to find a video of a old time comic named Burt Lahr. The gargle that
> he does will get you started.
> smojoe
>
> >   I try and try at least for a short
> > time each day to work on it, but I'm convinced there's a secret and I'm
> just
> > not getting it.
> >
> >
> >
> > Thanks guys/gals, Leonard
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ---
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>