Frosty
6 posts
Sep 14, 2011
8:23 AM
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I was wondering if anybody else is having or has had trouble in hitting hole 6, specially when jumping for example from draw 3 straight to 6 blow (or any other hole that is not near the hole from where you are jumping). It happened often to me that I hit blow 5 or blow 7 instead of blow 6. And when I started learning to use Powerbender tuning I had trouble (because of the new note layout) finding the draw 6, which is the root note in 2nd position in middle register in PB tuning.
It was in January when I read in this forum a discussion where someone said that we harmonica players must play kind of “blind”. We can not see what we are doing, opposite to those who play piano, guitar, saxophone or almost any other instrument than harmonica.
I started to think that blind people can read with their fingers using braille (I hope that this is the right word in English). Then I realized that if we harmonica players are “blind” our lips are our “fingers”. And the conclusion of my thinking was that maybe I could try to mark the hole six somehow so that I can feel it with my lips.
You can see the result in the picture under. I have done small bulges in the cover plates marking hole six. I made the bulges in both cover plates, so I can feel the hole six with my both lips. The bulges are maybe 1 millimeter high. This has helped me a lot specially when using Powerbender tuning, but now I have marked also my Richter harmonicas the same way.
Hopefully you can see the two bulges in the picture (arrows showing them). You can see also the tool I use to make the bulges. After I have marked the right place inside the cover plate with a pen I hit the tool carefully with a hammer to make the bulges. Sometimes I hit too hard and get some sharp edges in a bulge, but I have learned to soften the edges by filing. I make two bulges in both cover plates.
I don’t know if anybody else has had this trouble with hitting the right hole, but my invention has helped me a lot. The bulges make it easier for me to know and visualize where I am and where to go specially when playing holes 5-7 or even holes 4-8.
Any comments?
Frosty
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toddlgreene
3307 posts
Sep 14, 2011
8:45 AM
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Oh wow...that would seem like a speed bump, I would imagine. But, I can certainly see where a bump that serves the same purpose as a fret marker on a guitar would do, if it doesn't hinder your playing. When I know I've got to come in on a particular hole, such as the 6th, I'll slide the tip of my tongue from hole 1 over to whichever hole prior to playing, then let muscle memory take over from there.
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Todd L. Greene
Last Edited by on Sep 14, 2011 8:47 AM
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harpdude61
1032 posts
Sep 14, 2011
8:57 AM
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Hitting the right hole....hmmm
I would suggest not learning by feel or notching but rather by sound.
Try this simple exercise using octaves...play 1,4,7,and 10 blow..skip around an octave at a time or two octaves..you can do the same thing with 2draw, 3 blow, 6 blow, and 9 blow are the same pitch...or how about 3 draw, and 7 draw........4,8 draw,.....5,9 draw.
Jumping around octaves gives you a guideline and develops the ear. I do this to check out of tune notes.
Believe it or not, one day you will be able to put the harp in your mouth without looking or feeling and be able to play any hole you desire dead center.
Ever seen Cotton do the short, fast notes where he pulls the harp a foot or so away over and over. and always hits right on.
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ridge
290 posts
Sep 14, 2011
9:32 AM
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Harpdude is right on, you need to practice the aspect of jumping multiple holes with accuracy. It's a skill that needs to be built up over time.
I think your idea of putting bulges in the covers is quite clever. I know everyone is different and learns differently. If it works for you, then cheers!
Personally, I kept working on making those large jumps and now it's second nature.
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Frosty
8 posts
Sep 14, 2011
9:45 AM
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Speaking of muscle memory I see this as an accessory to develope my muscle memory. It was really helpful when starting with Powerbender tuning and when playing single note melodies. I play mostly lip pursing and do not use chords or octaves very much. And of my opinion the bulges are not taking away any of my speed. I got used to them very quickly.
But as Ridge said each one learns differently and I have found this way very useful for me. If anybody has the same difficulties as I have had, this could be a way to try to speed up the learning. Maybe it does not work for everybody.
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Frosty
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toddlgreene
3310 posts
Sep 14, 2011
10:06 AM
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I might have to do that on a harp to experiment, actually. I use something on the harp as a 'datum point'-be it the end of the comb, hole 1 or whatever. Even though I've been at it long enough to be able to hit whichever hole on command, it might not hurt to have that extra datum point.
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Todd L. Greene
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Frosty
9 posts
Sep 14, 2011
10:13 AM
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@toddlgreene
If you do an experiment, I would be very interested to read your comments after you have done that.
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Frosty
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GamblersHand
291 posts
Sep 14, 2011
10:33 AM
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Frosty - are you a lip purse player?
I'm mainly a lip purser but I find that tongue blocking when going from 2 or 3 to 6 gives me more accuracy and solid tone on a blow note. yes it's muscle memory too but there seems less margin for error.
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Frosty
10 posts
Sep 14, 2011
11:37 PM
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Yes, I am a lip purser.
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Frosty
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silpakorn
92 posts
Sep 14, 2011
11:51 PM
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I'm not an expert but I agree with harpdude. I'm a violinist and "muscle memory" is a big word for us since we don't have frets. To me when you say muscle memory it's not just muscle, your ears are working with it all the time - your inner ear will imagine a certain pitch then your body upload a muscle memory that related to that pitch and make a move and once you stop at a certain pitch then it's your ears' job again to check if it's correct. I personally don't see how one could train just the muscle alone to have a memory that related to musical pitch.
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jdblues
13 posts
Sep 15, 2011
12:44 AM
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Interesting idea.
I agree that it's important to have a "data points," and the bump serves as another one.
This is my problem with the Suzuki Bluesmaster - the coverplates extend left and right all the way to the end of the comb, past holes 1 and 10. I haven't seen or played any other harps like this, and it throws me off.
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BronzeWailer
263 posts
Sep 15, 2011
1:10 AM
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I do the same as GamblersHand. I'm a LP player with aspirations to be a TBer. Dan Gage's box shuffle has been useful, at least for me.
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harpdude61
1035 posts
Sep 15, 2011
6:22 AM
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@jdblues...Golden Melodys are that way too.
I am the opposite. I can't play a harp that doesn't have long covers. If I'm playing the 1 hole on a Marine Band it aggravates my embrouchure. The sharp edges and corners are on one side of my mouth and smooth on the other. I do play with the harp tilted and very deep however. I wouldn't feel the data points unless they were near the back of the top cover plate.
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chromaticblues
1004 posts
Sep 15, 2011
8:54 AM
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In time you just know where they are. In the mean time that just means your not very good and need to practice more.
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groyster1
1406 posts
Sep 15, 2011
10:14 AM
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hitting the right hole becomes second nature over time IMHO
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Aussiesucker
917 posts
Sep 15, 2011
1:37 PM
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I think chromaticblues has hit the nail on the head. Practice will over time see this problem disappear.
We see some players having to look at their harp to see the correct hole before starting to play & in time this also becomes part of muscle memory. Instinctively you know where it is ie muscle memory.
Try practising something simple like Over The Rainbow which first 2 notes are 4B then 7B. I used to practice by having the harp in my left hand behind my back and with my eyes closed bring it around to my mouth where I generally had no trouble hitting the right notes first off. I figure it's a combination of muscle memories in the hand & mouth. I actually find this quite amazing because if I try the well known test of closing eyes and having outstretched arms I am not always able to bring them together to make the index fingers of both hands meet.
Of course Frosty could use Lee Oskar harps and learn to read Braille with lip feel on the numbers? I would just keep practising!
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HARPOLDIE’S YOUTUBE
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