The Last Post
Hi Kinya
So I've offered to play the ceremonial bugle call, "The Last Post" at the school where I work on rememberance day next Friday. I have the call figured out on a Bb harmonica but it is mainly blow holes which don't provide enough expression for me. Consequently, I've figured out that I can play the opening note (Bb, 1 blow) then switch to an Eb harp for note 2 (F, 1 draw) and the majority of the passage is played out on draw holes 1-4 on the Eb. The closing notes require another 3 Bb notes which, again, can be achieved by switching back and forth betwen the Eb and the Bb harps.
To avoid having to switch harps in this way (especially when playing in front of @1000 staff and students!), I've tried marrying a Bb top plate with an Eb bottom plate, thus giving me the Bb(1 blow) that I need with all the remaining notes accessed on the Eb draw holes. The problem I am having is that the holes are choking and not responding with ease, in particular that 1 blow. Now, I understand that it is the interaction of both blow and draw reeds that provide the desired note and I assume that my Bb top plate reeds and Eb bottom plate reeds might need adjusting to perform better. I've had a play around but I don't wan't to be adjusting too much in the wrong direction for fear of wrecking my one Eb harp!
Can you offer any guidance on how I might set the reeds (specifically the 1 reeds) in terms of which would be best to open or close some to improve response, or is it too subtle to explain? Or, is it even do-able given the differences in reed length/weight between top and bottom plates- is the "choke" inevitable..?!
I'm not a hard player, by the way, but I'm mainly getting this issue when I switch quickly from the 1 draw (Eb plate) to the 1 blow (Bb plate). After The Last Post, the traditional 2 minute silence will be held before I will play the "Rouse" which is a short call but requires this quick switch between Bb and F. Again, this could be achieved solely on a Bb harp but doesn't sound anywhere like as good with the combination of notes that follow!
Thanks for any advice, Rob
BRILLIANT work Rob--impressive, I must say! We all can't wait to hear your performance.
Your story reminded me of my past efforts to create a chromatic diatonica harmonic. Inspired by PT Gazell, I installed valves (Seydel windsavers) over the Draw reed plate slots: #1 through #6 on my C diatonic harmonica. This resulted in an instrument that would enable me to blow bend (1/2 step lower) the following notes:
- #1 (C) > B
- #2 (E) > Eb
- #3 (G) > Gb/F#
- #4 (C) > B
- #5 (E) > Eb
- #6 (G) > Gb/F#
Of course, playing the bent notes "in tune" will require practice, but the unexpected bonus of adding the windsavers was the ability to play expressive blow notes--that feel like draw notes!
How does this work?
When you blow into the desired hole, the windsaver will completely close off the air from seeping into the draw reed slot. All air is now directed to the blow reed. The ability to control the blow reeds every nuance is a wonderful experience.
Heads up: if you build your own valved harmonica, expect the voicing of the blow notes to be muted. Sort of like the voicing variances you can hear, between a Hohner Marine Band Crossover and the Hohner Special 20.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
After posting I started thinking again about my problem. For the 1 blow reed to be sticking/ choking (not sounding for a brief moment before kicking in) I realised that this generally happens when a reed is set tight/ close to the slot. Now although my 1 blow reed wasn't set close at all I figured that opening it up more might just help in this situation so I took my Lee Oskar plinker to it and set it wide open! This helped a lot with that reed BUT the 1 draw was then affected in the same way! With trepidation (my only Eb bottom plate, remember...), I opened the 1 draw up a fair bit figuring that I could always get another Eb harp if I messed it up and... result- both holes responding as desired! I've also lifted draw reeds 2, 3 and 4 which are the other notes required and now have the harp set up as I want it.
Although I didn't wait for your reply the process of posting has helped me to work through the problem and I guess it might be of interest to some readers!
I'll upload a version played on my "custom Last Post harp" to the share section when I get chance to record it!
Rob