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From: BluesGe~ol.com
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 01:44:50 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Bends, Tone, and Timbre

Richard Hunter wrote:

>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.

Well, I suppose that "quite stable" is a relative term, so I see the validity
of the statement.

>>>
>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.



>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.

Maybe we can do the diatonic player a favor by putting these conditions in
context with other instruments, for which it may be maintained there are
similar challenges. Again, I see the issue from a relative standpoint. There
are other instruments for which a player must work to compensate for inherent
timbrel differences between notes, notably the brass instruments, such as
trumpet, euphonium and trombone.

On the trumpet, for instance, there are three combinations of fingerings and
partials that will produce a middle E. Each of these Es is produced through
the employment of a different tension of the embouchure and vibrating lips,
and a different size length of brass tubing into which the vibration is
projected. The pitches are identical, but the timbres of each E are noticably
different from the others. The trombone has the added challenge of the slide,
which does not provide for any defined mechanics for absolutely accurate
prediction of pitch. The player will raise and lower the slide, minutely,
after the producing the note to adjust the pitch.

Yet, these instruments are considered "legitimate" today for classical and
other forms of 12-tone music. It is arguably true that the challenges of
playing with timbrel congruity and true intonation present a vastly greater
challenge with the diatonic harmonica than the trombone, but it is only a
matter of degree. (I would also note that the lack of finger keys and valves
also handicaps the trombone player in the area of speed, another issue for
diatonic harp players.)

I believe that, in the past, the trombone faced similar "acceptance" issues
to the ones discussed on this list, relevant to the diatonic harmonica.
Negative biases against the trombone are still held by some, in classical and
jazz circles.

Based on the limited exposure of my untraveled ear, I would say that,
pertainent to timbre and intonation, and adding here, speed, nobody has
played either a trombone or a diatonic harp to the standard of, say, a piano
or violin.

- -dave