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From: Richard Hunter
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 23:42:07 -0500
Subject: Bends, Tone, and Timbre

Mike Curtis wrote (regarding bends and overblows):
>>
I agree that they're not inherently stable, and are challenging etc..
However, with proper technique, practice, and control, they can be made
to be quite stable.
>>

This is patently untrue if we're talking about a moving line that mixes
both bent and unbent pitches.

>>
But it does take more work to hold a bend perfectly on frequency and
with a consistent tone and timbre.
>>

It takes more work than I have yet to hear a human being accomplish;
that goes double for the "consistent tone and timbre" part. And I have
heard recordings by virtually everyone who writes to this list and then
some.

For those who have forgotten previous discussions on this topic, I
suggest a visit to my website at the URL below, where a page titled "Can
You (or Anyone) Play a Single Diatonic in 12 Keys?" can be found.
There's a test for 12-key facility described on that page; I seem to
recall that I asked Mike Curtis on this list some time ago to produce a
recording that met the requirements of the test. I have yet to hear
that recording, although I note that I am still hearing loose talk (as
per the quotes above) on this list about how bends can be made to sound
perfectly in tune, how a line with both bent notes and unbent notes can
be played with perfectly even timbre, etc.

I love diatonic harps and everything that goes with them -- they are my
favorite instruments -- but nobody's doing anybody any favors by
proclaiming that the instruments can do what nobody has yet done.
Again: if you've got the proof, show me the recording.

Mike Will wrote:
>So after all that, I guess the simple answer is that many bends and
>overblows are not stable, static situations. Dynamic adjustments are
>either needed, or difficult to avoid. The dynamic situation makes
>holding the note for an extended period (deliberately vague), while
>maintaining the quality of the note (tone, volume, and pitch),
>difficult. Challenging.

All true.

- --

richard.hunt~net.net
website: http://www.rootsworld.com/hunter/