Sundancer
12 posts
Aug 08, 2016
9:13 PM
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For the life of me I don't know why, but I struggle playing in D more than any other key. It is REALLY challenging for me to get my bends right. It affects my embouchure and I start narrowing my mouth & throat and making my tone sound crap. Do y'all have that one key that seems more challenging than the others?
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Tiggertoo1962
152 posts
Aug 09, 2016
10:41 AM
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Do you mean playing a D harp in 1st position, or a G harp in 2nd, etc? When I started, the C was my favourite harp, as anything above it was difficult to control the bends due to shorter reed size, and I had trouble hitting the 1 and 2 hole bends at all on my lower harps, like G and A. Now that my embrochure and breathing have improved slightly, G to Bb are now my favourites to play. I really do need to get the D and F harps out more often and practise controlling the bends on those short reeds...
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Sundancer
13 posts
Aug 09, 2016
12:18 PM
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It's the D in cross harp that is so challenging to me Tiggertoo. Hard to control those bends like you say.
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Fil
172 posts
Aug 09, 2016
12:56 PM
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The higher keys, for me. Tweaking some gaps has helped but it's mostly a matter of "time on task" I think. And getting some tips from some good YouTube lessons.
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Phil Pennington
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SuperBee
3976 posts
Aug 09, 2016
8:14 PM
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Yeah D is a funny one. I play D harps a lot and I play an F some. I rarely play E or Eb, and with F I sometimes use a Low F, but with D I just have to suck it up because low D is too low for me.
The standard F is a very fast harp. I 'can' blow bend it, and get all the draw bends but those things are not really a strength of the instrument. If I need to play something which needs a mellow tone I'll take the low F option
..but this is about D harps
Yeah, it's all doable but takes a bit of practice. I like to play an A harp in 1st position sometimes if I can, which lets me avoid the D. But the D is a great rocking-out harp, fast response and cuts through. I don't really love playing it in a slow blues but I do it because
Maybe my most used key, toss up with the A harp. So you know, you just have to get with it. It's just a question of calibration really and as Fil said, time on task.
Here's something I've noticed through my work of repairs and service to other people's harps; the best players (I mean the 'working' players really) I work for tend to only use 3 or 4 keys of harp, especially if they are singers
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SuperBee
3977 posts
Aug 09, 2016
8:25 PM
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So...re op, I don't have one key, I have a bunch that are challenging but D is the one I can't avoid.
funnily enough, it's the key I'm most fussy about when I set one up. They are never good enough for me. I know I've made some great ones because I get a lot in for repairs and they are almost always inferior to those in my personal kit, but I'm sure they can be better which is why I've asked Richard sleigh to build one for me.
Given my druthers, I think Bb is a pretty cool harp.
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Sundancer
14 posts
Aug 11, 2016
9:15 PM
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I'm starting to realise that the D is teaching me how important it is to have a really good embouchure & harp position. It is unforgiving but fair, just like my metronome.
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MindTheGap
1735 posts
Aug 12, 2016
4:55 AM
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What's both entertaining and frustrating about the harp is the difference between keys.
Early on I was vexed that it was hard to play the exactly the same things, with the same level of control on a D-harp as an A-harp. Later on, after a lot of listening, I discovered it was difficult for everyone. On the whole people don't try to do that, they pick and choose to make the best of each key.
I'll give one specific example. Little Walter's version of The Key to the Highway, D-harp. If you try to play the tune proper, then you have to hold a difficult 3 bend. People do it, and to cover it up add a load of vibrato, wah etc. LW doesn't do that, but uses alternative notes that do sound great on the D-harp.
IMO each harp has it's own musical flavours, and slavishly playing the same thing on higher keys may be a great party trick, and be good for your technique in general, but it's not always the best musical choice.
Yes, you can play a high-F harp in 1st position at the top end. Even I can do those blow bends, but it's not a mellow sound like 1st position on an A or G. I've got one or two great examples of really high playing, and they are very much a special thing. You'd only want to hear that on one song in a set.
What I'm saying is there is technique, then there is actual music making - I mean for non-harp players to listen to.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Aug 12, 2016 4:57 AM
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SuperBee
3981 posts
Aug 12, 2016
5:22 AM
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Yes, quite so. This is what I was alluding to by 'strength of the instrument'.
some things can be done and maybe they're worth doing for sake of development but not for public consumption.
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MindTheGap
1737 posts
Aug 12, 2016
7:23 AM
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Yes I see. I'll add a couple of practical points,
1. I found that playing bends on higher keyed harps helped with the technique on the lower keys. With the proviso that spending too long on high keys weakened the lowest bends on my G harp, so it's not a panacea. So buy an F-harp and play your bends on that. Then go back to the D-harp and see how it feels.
2. When you get into playing different positions, Sundancer, then you'll find you have more options. Often I'll choose to play a G harp in 3rd position, which gives the key of A. Rather than a D harp in 2nd position. The lower notes available can be better for some songs vs the D-harp which can be a bit strident.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Aug 12, 2016 7:26 AM
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Sundancer
15 posts
Aug 12, 2016
2:01 PM
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Mind the Gap (great name BTW, as I lived in London for 12 years and heard that expression thousands of times). Thanks for the suggestion about the F harp. That's my next step - will let y'all know how it turns out.
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