From: Winslow Yerxa Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 20:04:15 -0500 Subject: Re: Blind harp (was: overblows will I ever know thee?)
In answer to Brian McCarville's plaint, Tom Albanese answers:
>Valved diatonics give you the capability to do traditional bends >on all draw and blow reeds that are valved. This gives the player >the opportunity to play chromatically by bending within a wider range >than what's available on non-valved harps, but not by overblowing. >Overblowing a valved harp is pretty near impossible AFAIK.
Not just pretty near impossible. Completely.
When you play an overblow, It's the draw reed going backwards (opening). The blow reed is silent (if the harp adjustment and your technique are all working together).
When you valve a harp to enable blow bends, you put a valve (a little strip of pliable plastic) over the reedplate slot for the draw reed. The draw reed is on the outside, the valve is on the inside.
When you play a blow note with this valve in place, your blow breath flattens the valve against the draw reed slot, making it impossible for any air to get through the draw slot. This delivers all the air to the blow reed.
Because the draw reed cannot get any air, there cannot be an overblow. And because the higher-pitched reed is out of action, the lower pitched reed is free to bend. (I'm speaking of Holes 1 thru 6 on a regular diatonic. For Holes 7-10 everything is reversed; blow becomes draw and vice versa.)
Now, as far as getting to first base with overblows. Can you bend the high blow notes (7-10) with good control on a medium-pitched harp (let's say from a G harp up to a C harp)?
If not, work on your blow bends.
If your blow bends are good, you should be able to easily, with no strain - in fact almost no effort, bend Blow 8 and 9 fluidly down a semitone at low volume. You should be able to smoothly bend Blow 10 down two semitones in a fluid motion, passing through a 1 semitone bend to a 2 semitone bend. The things tend to be easier on lower ptiched harps because the oral chamber required isn't as small as on higher pitched harps.
If your blow bends are good and you're really not having any luck, try making a blind harp. Here's what you do.
Take two harps in the same key. It should be a medium key like A, Bb or C. It should be a key where you can easily control both the high blow bends and the low draw bends.
Set the first harp aside.
Take the second harp and remove the covers. Take a strip of adhesive tape - something that sticks well but can be removed later. Use it to block all the blow reeds. As the blow reeds are on the inside of the reedplate- this will not harm them. Just lay a strip down to seal off all the blow slots. Make sure you don't cover the area where the front ridge of the cover contacts the reedplate.
Now, put the covers back on.
All the draw notes will work, but the blow reeds will be silent.
One of the hardest things about making overblows happen is getting the blow reed to be quiet. This accomplished that for you, like training wheels.
Now, take the normal harp and play the high blow bends in holes 8, 9 and 10. Try starting with the bent note, and letting it rise to the natural pitch slowly and smoothly. Notice what your tongue and your mouth do.
Now, take the blind harp and try playing the high blow bends again, in Holes 8, 9 and 10, starting with the bent note. If you like, play the draw note, then try to make the blow bend happen one semitone above the draw note. It doesn't matter that the blow notes are blocked. The bottom of a bend usually comes from the opposite reed. The bottom of the blow bend comes from the draw reed (don't puzzle over this - just try it).
If you can get the blow bend happening, try pushing it up in pitch, moving the oral chamber up or forward to make it smaller. Play around with this for awhile.
Here's another thing to try. Try blowing very softly into the hole, without bending. You won't hear any sound. Now try engaging the bend so that the bent note starts very softly. Try to get it so that it comes in without snapping, and comes in on pitch and holds steady. This may not come right away, but it's a very good thing to work on.
Now, we've been using the high blow bends as a common point of reference. Yes, with the blow reeds blocked these are technically overblows and not blow bends.
Try going back and forth between the blind harp and the normal harp, observing how you get the normal blow bends, then using that to get the bloind ones going.
So once you get some level of comfort with playing the high overblow/blow bends, stay with the blind harp and start moving down to Hole7, then 6, then 5 and on down. The same technique that works up high can be adapted (with a larger resonant chamber in your mouth) for the lower reeds.
Once you get comfortable with blind overblows, start trying them on the regular harp. it won;t be as easy (except in holes 7-10 :)). Now half the air will be going to the blow reed and it may want to talk. You may want to start setting reed gaps and working to make your harp more airtight, and refining the technique to deal with the "normal" situation.
