From: JJTHAD~ife.uams.edu Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 09:48:23 -0500 (CDT) Subject: re:bending reeds
Why 3D can always bend down three semitones regardless of harp key, and why the 3D "B" on a C harp can do this while a 1D "B" on an A harp cannot?
Because it isn't the draw reeds that are the major players in draw reed bends. The blow reed makes progressively more of the sound as the bend deepens until only it is sounding. All of your observations are explained by the fact that blow reeds can, and do, produce a tone when you suck on them, but they take a little more pressure to start playing. A reed playing in this unusual mode is called an "opening reed" because the air is in the direction that causes it to open up.
