4 draw bend on a C harp.
Hi there, I just found that on my crossover C harp, the tongue block bending on the
4th draw just plays 20% sharper than what it has to. I can bend it nicely and deep if I pucker.
On all the other harps in different keys there is not problem even if toungue blocking.
Is there any reed work I can do to deep that one ?
Thanks.
Hi Winslow, Hi Luckyharp,
I have had the same issue with my 4 draw bend and it has occurred with my 4 or 5 C harps.
It was the only one draw bend I couldn't reach as far as the others.
Working on my mouth shape resolved the problem. It just took time.
All the best,
Eddy
You're both right.
I just had to put more of the instrument in my mouth and shape the oral cavity to get it better.
I had the suspect because it was the same on two C harps. Now is better, thansks. Sometime we forget the basic stuff :)
I'd suggest that you work on your bending technique.
However, if you suspect that the harp may be the problem, then I suggest that you take the covers off and look at the gapping on the draw reeds. If the gap on Draw 4 is significantly different from its neighbors, you may try changing it. Same goes for Blow 4, as this also participates in the bend, but to get at it you'll need to disassemble the reedplates from the comb.
It's also possible that the comb is not flat and air leakage is occurring. One way to test for that is to paint the comb surfaces that contact the reedplate with a marker, then place the comb on some fine-grained sandpaper (or even regular printer paper) and swirl the reedplate around. The color from he marker will sand away from the high spots (which make contat with the reedplate) but remain on the low spots (which don't contact the reedplate and can therefore cause leaks.
However, the fact that you can bend it well with one embouchure and not with the other suggests to me that you need to work on bending with that embouchure, dialing in for that specific note.
Do you have other C-harps you can try? If you get the same result with those, then you know it's technique.