New Hohner Blues Harp in A - squealing on hole 3 bends
I recently bought a new Hohner Blues Harp in A. It sounds great and feels very responsive, but I’m having an issue with a high-pitched squeal when bending hole 3.
The regular draw and blow notes on that hole sound clean. The squeal only happens when I try to bend. Sometimes it develops after I hold the bent note for a moment, even on a half-step bend from G# to G. Other times, it starts as soon as I attempt the bend, before the bent note actually sounds. I haven’t noticed this issue on the other holes.
I play tongue blocking and use a tuner to check the pitch.
Could you advise me on what to check first? Could this be related to the reed gaps, alignment, or reed profile? If an adjustment is needed, which reed would you inspect first, and how would you approach the adjustment?
I’d also appreciate your opinion on whether this is something I could reasonably address myself or whether I should have the shop inspect the harmonica.
Thank you for your time and advice.
When you bend a note, you're tuning your oral cavity (where the tongue and teeth reside) to the pitch of the bent note. When you tune it to a note the reed can't respond to, it has to throw off that energy somehow, and sometimes it vibrates sideways and squeals. That sideways vibration is called torsional vibration.
Try this (do it with a tongue block).
Play Draw 3 and sustain it.
While inhaling, make the K sound by touching your tongue to the roof of your mouth roughly halfway back along the length of your tongue (don't try to measure that, just make the sound). It should sound sometthing like "keee."
Now, try to make the sound "kooo" instead. (Alternately, try "kee-ooo.") Play around with making this sound so that the note bends down. You may notice two things happening:
-- The K-spot may move slightly back a long the roof of your mouth.
-- The part of the tongue between the K-spot and the tip of your tongue may move a bit lower in your mouth.
You can get all three bends in Draw 3 this way with a little practice.
Once you start to get the hang of this, you won't need to actually make the "K" sound -that's just a sort of training wheel.
I hope this helps. Let me know how it goes.
Thank you so much for your incredibly detailed and thorough explanation. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into it!
This harmonica was something of an experiment for me, and as it turns out, buying it may not have been the best idea. I've never experienced these kinds of unwanted squeals or other sound-related issues with my Marine Band or Marine Band Deluxe.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and for the helpful advice!
Post also in Kinya's thread. If you get answers from both Winslow and Kinya you'll be in great shape! And Kinya can link you to videos re doing your own work on the harp.