yogi
28 posts
Jun 23, 2010
11:18 AM
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Ho all,
Saw a really interesting programme on the tv here last night and wondered, does it apply to playing harmonica.
They have disecting the great predators and last night was lions and tigers.
One of the things they were wanting to find out was how a lion makes a roar so deep and soloud.
Through the disection they discovered something they say was new knowledge to science.
Initially they found how deep in the throat the voice box was and concluded the increase in vocal chamber this created was the explanation.
However, they then found the lion has two muscles either side of the vocal box which it was able to contract pulling the vocal chords deep down the throat almost into the chest.
They fixed a compressor to the trachea and when turned on the voacl chords roared. They continued the air flow but then contracted the muscles. The change in tone, depth and volume of the sound was astonishing.
So I wondered. We work on diaphram breathing and big mouth chamber but do any players have the ability to control the movement of the vocal box to effect tone?. I dont even know if we as a species have the ability to do it.
On an aside, I read recently that tilting the harmonica in the mouth so that the opening of the back of the harmonica is above the level of front of the harmonica in the mouth. I have noticed for a long time that when i play the harmonica is far from paralel to the ground, usualy around30 degrees or so. I thought this was an inhibitive thing that i might need to adress but now not so sure.
The reasoning in the article was that a tilted harmonice allows the air flow to be continuous rather than having to change direction to exit the mouth through the harmonica.
And something else i have been hearing mixed messages about. I have read/heared that air leaving the nose whilst playing is both good and bad. Any thoughts?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and hoping to avoid controvasy.
(the lion and tiger disected had died in zoos not killed for the programme. Staying away from the ethics of that!)
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nacoran
2255 posts
Jun 23, 2010
11:58 AM
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I'm not sure. It seems you might accomplish the same thing by tilting your head back. Try playing a steady note and slowly tilting your head backwards. I don't hear a big change in the pitch when I do it. I do hear a difference when I tilt the harp though. This leads me to believe it's got more to do with the angle the air hits the harmonica than the vocal chords. But my sample size isn't large enough to make any scientific conclusions. Anyone else?
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Nate
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walterharp
370 posts
Jun 23, 2010
12:27 PM
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listen to recordings playing different ways, cause moving around your vocal chords and mouth position will also influence sound conduction to your ears, which is considerable. with earplug in and a loud band playing i can still hear my own unamplified harp
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toddlgreene
1470 posts
Jun 23, 2010
12:44 PM
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walterharp, I thought I was the only one who did that! On that note, as I've worked on my tone over the past few years, the resonance of my playing in my head is consdierably louder now when I use an earplug. Coincidence that the harp is deeper in my mouth?
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Crescent City Harmonica Club
Todd L Greene, Co-Founder
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barbequebob
971 posts
Jun 23, 2010
12:47 PM
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Just the tiniest and subtlest things DO have a far larger impact on eveything you do.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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nacoran
2258 posts
Jun 23, 2010
6:59 PM
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I don't know about the harmonica, but the voices in my head are getting louder. I'll have to see if they change pitch when I move my head around.
Oh, that explains it. I had the TV on. Now if I can just get rid of this random blood and needle marks. (Obscure SNL reference.)
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Nate
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Kyzer Sosa
682 posts
Jun 23, 2010
8:10 PM
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i simply cannot play blow notes in any song i play without exhaling thru my nose. hell, often i NEED to just so i can let go of all that air i just brought in. im not sure you CAN play a blow note without air going out your nose. were not geared that way. try it, see what i mean. it aint always much, but its there. the nose seems to be just as much an important part of the cavity you create when you play. i just tried and you have to force yourself NOT to do it.. sounds like bubkus to me yogi
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nacoran
2261 posts
Jun 23, 2010
8:24 PM
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There are certainly different levels of breathing through your nose while playing. After Kyzer's post, I decided to give playing while holding my nose a try. I can do it, but it does make it harder to manage your air flow. I can hear a little change in the tone, but I get too light headed to tell if I like it or not. At the extreme end of the spectrum you have circular breathing, where you inhale through your nose while blowing out through your mouth (and vice versa).
Sometimes it's even useful to let air out of your mouth around your harmonica, although you have to be careful about your microphone picking it up.
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Nate
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yogi
30 posts
Jun 23, 2010
11:15 PM
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Its intriguing.
i lit a cigarette and noticed i can breathe out the smoke with none leaving my nose. Got an old harp and tried to play so the smoke only cme through the harp with none leaving my nose. just could not do it.
Why the difference?
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Kyzer Sosa
685 posts
Jun 23, 2010
11:26 PM
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exhaling is different than blowing
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Greg Heumann
581 posts
Jun 23, 2010
11:42 PM
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I have had my vocal chords surgically connected to my........
Need I say more?
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/Greg
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5F6H
214 posts
Jun 24, 2010
1:44 AM
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You don't really use your vocal cords when playing the harp, yes playing around with the open-ness of various cavities changes the sound, but the reeds take the place of the vocal cords in this instance.
Vocalists can have at least 2 "voices" though, a head voice, where the sung note resonates in the head, throat & nasal cavity ...and a gut voice that sits more in the chest & throat...good vocalists can often swing between the 2.
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