yeah, I used to keep buying G harps because of that reason; I thought they were all faulty. The host of the site, Adam Gussow has a lesson, I think its called tone clinic or something where he addresses that. Dropping the jaw and opening the throat cavity made the biggest difference to my tone. Good luck and stick with it. ---------- Lucky Lester
Hello Emil. I just tried several of my harps out for any distortion & none exists. I agree with didjcripey that you might want to work on dropping your jaw & opening up your throat for a better resonance. That said, how are you measuring the distortion? I see you tampered with a MB Deluxe which is compromise tuned as described here:
Do you have the ability to measure how many cents each reed is set at? The 1 draw is set at +2 cents. What is "better results" ? A Peterson tuner would be helpful.
Before you invest in all of these tools, get a copy of Harpninja & play at pitch 5 cents. It's not easy to hold a note for 30 seconds without a waiver. If you see problems there then you may have a bad reed. If not, then you need to work on your embouchure in either mode of: tongue blocked out of the left side of your mouth (for a good slap draw) or lip pursed right over the hole. I hope this is useful.
I just tried my Manji in G on the 1 hole draw and blow. Spot on using tuner set at A443 baseline. I do keep throat open, jaw dropped and light breath. If I pucker, don't keep the harp deep in my mouth, alter my tongue position as though I were saying the vowel "U", instead of opening like "Ah" then I'm flat by 20 cents on the draw and flat 10+ cents on the blow.
So try the advice given and see if it improves. BTW I'm using a simple tuner app on my iPhone called Pano Tuner.
All the above advice is good but definitely try Thievin' Heathen's suggestion. Breathe through the harp, from deep down. I can recreate what I think you're experiencing by filling my cheeks with air and then blowing through the harp.
The action should be like misting up a window rather than blowing out a candle. Hope this makes sense and helps.
One of the best exercises for improving tone on wind instruments it long tones. You hold a note for a long time, 8 counts or more, making subtle changes and listening to the effects they have. When you hear the tone improve try to lock in the improvement and see if you can improve it more. It is kind of like a biofeedback experiment. You may not know exactly what you are doing to improve to tone, but the tone lets you know you are going in the right direction. This works even if what you think you are doing is not what you are doing, a very real possibility, as all of the body parts that matter are hidden from view.
I am a big fan of long tones, but hadn't thought of incorporating a tuner.
Something I do with long tones, is to stop them in 1/8th notes, hah-hah-hah-hah-hah, until I'm out of breath then inhale until I can't take any more, out again, in again. Go to 1/16th notes. One day, not too long either, you will find the beginnings of a throat vibrato.
The origianal post to the title topic was: regardless of model, e.g., Horner MB Delux C, Suzuki Manji C, Horner Special 20 A, Lee Oscars, etc. all my harps "out of the box" have a distorted hole 1 blow and draw. Help.
---- Emil
Last Edited by Emil on Jul 31, 2016 1:32 AM
An enthusiastic +1 for HarpNinja. HN reveals all, good bad and ugly.
David Barrett brought a copy on his laptop to the last SPAH. A lot of us who attended his table Q/A sessions (which are superb) thought we had our bends down. Not! Very much an eye opener. I bought HN the first thing on my return home.
The program itself is a bit clunky but it delivers on the bottom line: improving the accuracy of your bends. There are other kind of "cutesy" functions like melody training but the gold is its "Tuning Dojo." I have difficulty maintaining focus with extended bending exercises using a tuner. (Every serious harper should do those kinds of exercises to develop muscle memory and train their ears, right?). HN makes those exercises fun, instructive and most of all, revealing.
At $30, I think HarpNinja is among the best money a harmonica player can spend.
Michelle
---------- SilverWing Leather - Custom leather creations for musicians and other eccentrics.
'The origianal post to the title topic was: regardless of model, e.g., Horner MB Delux C, Suzuki Manji C, Horner Special 20 A, Lee Oscars, etc. all my harps "out of the box" have a distorted hole 1 blow and draw. Help.'
You got the help you were asking for, then tried to delete the whole thread. Why?
Sorry timmestight, I took it for granted that the problem was solved and didn´t deserve anymore space. Apparently from your commments, this was a wrong decision. _____ Emil
Just a follow up on my origial post. As you suspect, I am only a beginner and your comments helped immensely. Not perfect but better. For info, I am 90 years old living in an old age home. I learned to play because things were so boring here and I spend many hours daily practicing. Hopefully, I can one day master the one hole blow and draw on a harmonia.
No need to ever delete a thread. They naturally drop off the front page when people stop commenting on them, but other people can still find them with the search function in the archives. :)
What a great way to fill your hours at your "old age home," Emil!
It will not only provide endless hours of personal growth and enjoyment of life but folks in retirement homes love to hear live music. Live music awakens the youngster in older people, often animating them when they ordinarily are withdrawn into the shell of their declining years. I've seen nearly catatonic people awaken to the sound of a familiar tune.
So, get out and share the fruits of your studies. You and your "old age home" mates will all benefit in manifold ways.
Good on ya, Emil!
Michelle
---------- SilverWing Leather - Custom leather creations for musicians and other eccentrics.
