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From: "PM"
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 10:56:23 -0500
Subject: "Hearing" and Diatonic Bends

Don:

Thanks for the follow-up. I tried your ideas and they're great.

I always think all this stuff that we deal with on harmonica is
about "hearing" the notes, and being "musical" with what we
"hear;" whatever that means to each person . . .

BTW, I've always played that horn line on "I Feel Good," and
I too play that note(Bb on a C Harp)with some vibrato to hold
it there-because you're hitting it pretty hard at that point.

But, I "do" try to practice those notes without vibrato so as
to constantly improve my "feel" for them and intonation. IMO,
if I depend too much on vibrato to mask the inconsistencies,
then I don't ever get around to "really" knowing what the true
notes are . . .

As usual in things I say, it should be understood that it's always
a process of "becoming," and I by no means am sitting here
having licked these issues-but I work on them all the time.

Just a quick reference to Richard Hunter's comment about
diatonic tone and consistency . . .

I agree, I don't think the diatonic community has these issues
licked, but as Dave mentioned in his post about trumpet etc-
those instruments have had some similar "issues" that have
been worked on by generations of players, and many of those
issues have been largely resolved over that long period of time . . .

We are only a few decades into some of these issues(some
issues-less than that), and I've got to believe that future
generations of diatonic players will have built upon the
traditions that are being established as we speak.

Meanwhile, we all want to keep working on what's on "our"
plate . . .

Best regards-Paul Messinger/Chapel Hill NC