As a beginner player, I know I make lots of mistakes and have to pratic and study a lot to start to play something cool. But I was thinking that I can make some improvements in my harp to make it play easy so....
What are the first step a beginner should take to improve the harp ? And after that ?
Do you mean what adjustments you can make to your harp to make it play easier?
First off. Make sure you are using a fairly decent harp to start with. I expect you've done your research already.
Secondly, almost every harp you buy will probably play perfectly well but if you really have to tinker with it, the first thing to do would be to check the gapping and adjust if necessary.
Personally, I'd stick with learning to play the harp and get a few tunes under your belt so you know your way around it. Once you know what you are doing, then think about modding or adjusting your harp. ----------
"...almost every harp you buy will probably play perfectly well..."
I'm going to "disagree somewhat" with tooka if the survey will allow me that option. For his own needs and purposes he may be right but for my purposes I would say no, almost every stock harp that I have bought has come with some kind of significant shortcoming.
Tooka is right about getting some experience first before moving on to harp modifications. Early on you can get by on an off the shelf assortment of marginal stuff in 3 or 4 keys and learn a lot from that. The thing is - if you are already serious and commited to learning how to play the whole instrument then sooner or later you will benefit from having at least one harp that is adjusted properly, so your best and "first step to improve your harp" might be to find someone who can put a decent working prototype in your hands.
One of the most valuable things that I lucked onto early on was a stock C harp that played beautifully in the 2 and 3 draw bends. That is how I found out how a well made harp should play and respond. Everything else I had back then was pretty shaky in the lower register.
Most stock harps work out fine for most people most of the time, but trying to learn good, correct 3 draw bends on a harp with an out of kilter 3 reed could make you want to learn to play the blues on something relatively easier...like the french horn.
The best things a beginner can do is start with a good mid-priced harmonica from Suzuki, Lee Oskar, Seydel or one of the German-made Hohners. Keep the harp clean by not playing just after eating unless you rinse your mouth out first. Tap the mouthpiece of the harp against the palm of your hand after playing to get rid of excess saliva and let the harp air dry a few minutes before putting it back in its case. Keep the harp in the case when you're not playing it. Another important thing is to not play too hard. You can blow out a reed by playing too hard. The number 2 hole draw is usually hard for a beginner to play properly. This is normal. When you have developed the proper technique the 2 hole draw will sound fine. Good luck. You are beginning an exciting and hopefully a long journey.
The first thing I'd do, before trying to work on a good harp, is to go out and buy a $5 Blues Band with the idea you are going to take it apart and probably break it.
The easiest modification you can make is making sure it's gapped properly. Here is an index of Adam's YouTube videos. For gapping, try watching video 16. You can also check to make sure your reeds are straight in the slot during this step.
The next step, I think, in most players learning how to mod harps is opening up the backs on the cover plates. There are lots of videos on how to do this. Dave Payne has a particularly good one (Elk River Harmonicas) although I don't have a link handy.
After you get comfortable with the basics you can try more advanced stuff like embossing, tuning, and everything else, but making sure your harp is gapped and slotted right and deciding if you are an open back or a closed back fan is a good start and is all a lot of players do. Make sure you don't over tighten your screws. You can warp the plates that way.
Once you've got those basic techniques down on a $5 harp you can apply them to your regular harps.
Last Edited by on Sep 24, 2011 8:10 PM