Problems With Valved 1847 Noble
Thu, 10/04/2012 - 09:06
Hi Winslow!
I just bought a PT valved, Paddy tuned 1847 Noble in low D. 7 draw bend to C natural squeaks horribly and 4 draw is almost impossible to start without leaking some air in through the nose or using light articulation. Is this a player problem or does the harp need tweaking?
Tue, 10/23/2012 - 13:34
#2
Thanks, Winslow! I sent it
Thanks, Winslow! I sent it back to Rupert for a tweak, and it plays like butter now. He did gap the 4 draw, but the squealing on the 7 draw bend was all me. I was bending way below C-natural, causing the squeal. He was very tactful in pointing that out. :)
Having a blast playing tunes that I played on Irish flute and hammered dulcimer with my Celtic band back in the eighties!
Do you have another Low D to compare? Doesn't matter whether it's valved or not.
if so, try playing Draw 7 and then try to bend it. You'll get one of two results - either just a normal note, or a squeak.
If you get the squeak, you know that your technique could use some adjustment. (Maybe the harp needs something, too, but that's a separate problem.)
For a technique fix, try making your oral cavity a bit smaller. Squeals tend to show up when there is a mismatch between the note you tune your mouth to and the notes that the reed can actually bend to, especially if you tune your mouth to a note that's lower than the bending range of the reed by making your oral cavity too large. If you're puckering, move your K-spot farther forward. If you're tongue blocking, try raising your jaw and/or tongue to make your oral cavity smaller.
For a gapping fix, you could try raising the gap of the reed slightly, which can actually help make the bend more pliable, as long as you don't overdo it.
The 4 Draw problem suggests to me that the reed is gapped too low. On half-valved harps this tends to show up more on the blow reeds, but this could simply be a vagary of how that individual harp was gapped. I'd suggest examining the gaps of 3, 4, and 5, and if 4 seems considerably lower, you should raise it a bit to be similar to the others.
Hope this helps.