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DATE: Mon, 21 Mar 1994 15:59:06 CST
From: gmayh~ven.lerc.nasa.gov (George Mayhew)
Subject: Re: Bending hole 5.

> I'm getting a little tired of hearing about ruining harps by bending the
> 5th hole. We heard from Winslow that the greats have done it in the past.
> Also on a physical level, there is no reason why the 5 blow reed is any
> different than the other blow reeds. (Remember, bending a draw note means you
> are actually vibrating the blow reed.)
>
> I will admit that bending #5 will not give you an actual note (just an
> incomplete flattening of the 5 draw note), but you should still be able to
> do it without invoking "death from above".
>
>
> --Norbert
>
Of course you can bend hole 5. Do whatever you need to do to get
music out of your harp. I bend hole 5. I've also used my harps
as guitar slides and drumsticks. Of those activities, only bending
hole five has caused the 5 hole reed to go flat. Having discovered
that early on, I use the 5 bend sparingly, and when the music calls
for it. I no longer, as I did when I first learned to bend, use
the 5 bend as a substitute for 5 blow. As Steve Jennings pointed
out, they are not the same note, anyway.

The original post that started this thread was from someone who plays
Pro Harps and finds that the 5 hole reeds fail. The response offered
was that frequent 5 hole bending, while indeed possible, will shorten
the life of the reeds.

> > Emma,
> >
> > I noticed that my Pro-harps are fragile on the 5th draw.
> > Hohner has now a modular system which may solve the problem
> > (I think it is available with Blues-harp).
> >
> > steph
> >
> Steph,
>
> Are you bending the 5 draw? That will cause early death in any
> harp. I generally avoid it. I don't know why the 5 draw would be more
> harmful. 5 draw and 5 blow are only a half step apart, so 5 draw bend
> is the same note as 5 blow. I suppose that has something to do with it.
>
> Does anybody have the answer?
>
And now for something completely different.

George Mayhew