20 moving parts!!!
Fri, 05/21/2010 - 16:24
Dear Kinya,
I watched Davids demo on the chromatic tuner and realized I was only watching the note and note paying particular attention to the needle being centered. Then using my Korg LCA-120 I checked my Suzuki Promaster and found that the first 5 holes were playing flat both blow and draw, the ones i use most...(-20? whatever that means)..all Key of A.
I checked my brand new Manji and Firebreath and they were in the middle .. more or less.
What does it mean when your harp goes flat?
Should i just throw it out?
How long is the average life of a harp..
I have been playing this for 6 months.
Thank you!
Steve
Portland, Oregon
Hey Steve,
No, no, no ... don't throw it out (send it to me ;o) this is a very good thing -- IF you enjoy playing and listening to traditional blues harmonica.
When playing in second position (aka Cross harp), the 5 draw is the flatted 7th of the blues scale (if you wanted a major scale this note would be raised a semi-tone/half step). Blues type playing typically would include drawing on two or more notes, producing a chord. Similar to piano tuning, with some of the notes tuned flat (-20cents relative to a tuning fork @ 0+cents) the chord would be smooth and pleasant sounding.
On the other hand, if you enjoy listening to the harmonica as a more contemporary sounding instrument (think Lee Oskar and overblow type players), notes tuned closer to 0+ would be more desirable. In fact, I don't believe I have ever heard Lee Oskar play a chord, if he did it would sound harsh ... sort of jiggy jaggy (tech term).
Based on my trip to Trossingen, Germany and more recently the SPAH convention in Sacramento, I'm hearing more and more contemporary single note type players. I don't think it is any coincidence that Hohner released the new Crossover and Suzuki's Manji in a 12TET (12 tone equal temperament) type tuning.
Regarding the longevity of your harmonica, will depend on your playing style. Remember when you first learned to drive and you accidently left the emergency brake engaged? I bet you had to get the brake pads replaced ;o)
“Play the notes people want to hear © 2008
Kinya Pollard
The Harpsmith