Ask Harmonica Expert Winslow Yerxa

A tight cup needs a good seal to be effective.

But you don't need to cup the entire harp.

Your hands themselves should be airtight - they should form an airtight seal if you exhale or inhale into them without a harmonica.

But the left or right end of the harmonica can stick out of the cup without compromising the effectiveness of the cup.

This can help when you need to operate the slide on a chromatic - let the left end stick out. continue reading...

A tight cup needs a good seal to be effective.

But you don't need to cup the entire harp.

Your hands themselves should be airtight - they should form an airtight seal if you exhale or inhale into them without a harmonica.

But the left or right end of the harmonica can stick out of the cup without compromising the effectiveness of the cup.

This can help when you need to operate the slide on a chromatic - let the left end stick out. continue reading...

Hi Winslow I have got 2 Manji harps 1D 1Bb.Nice harps to play but I have noticed that the 1 hole on both harps are smaller than the rest of the holes, is this the norm or will I have to open them up some how.
Many thanks Ron

I am not at the point of custom harps, but do like to have them tuned as close as possible. I have used Lee Oskar, Marine Band, Hering 1923, Bushman, and Special 20 with the Special 20 being the one I came to like best. During a conversation I was having with Rod Piazza he mentioned that he thought the Hering Blues Harp came as close to being tuned right coming out of the box as anything he has ever used. I know Rod has a special relationship with Hering, but have found him to always be very straight with me. continue reading...

Hi Winslow - David describes the "dip" as a bent note with a slur to the non-bent note. I find that with my Seydel chrom. it is a very delicate touch thing and hard to get but with my Hohner, it's much easier. Also with the Seydel, some holes (reeds?) are easier to get this technique. Is there something that can be done to the reed - like adjusting the gap - to make this easier?? I've done some work on my diatonics but never to the chromatic. Or am I better off to keep working at getting the technique??

Dear mr. Yerxa recently I bought some manji harmonicas which I like, but I found it impossible to bend them tongue-blocked. I managed to tb-bend on my old marine-band harmonica's which are less airtight. I opened up my old marine-band in g and found out that the gaps were pretty wide. I set up a manji in g with wider gapping and suddenly I could bend the reeds on this. Is it common that it's easier to do this when you have wider gaps? What do you think about gapping in general? 

Winslow,
This is the theme from ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST.....the movie.
could you give a listen and tell us what you hear?
is it a tremelo harp and what key
do you know who plays it?
can it be played with a diatonic harp?
I have always loved the harmonica in this movie....and would love to be able to render somethng that sounds at least vaguely similar...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL-X53ze5O0&feature=related

Thank you!
Steve

When I bend the three draw on my Lee Oskar or Suzuki Bluesmaster in D, the note sounds, but often turns into a squeal. I can bend more or less okay on my other harps (from low F all the way up to F) and don't get the squeal. However, I won't immediately assume it's the harps that are to blame since whenever I get a problem it usually turns out to be my technique that needs adjusting - and I get the same problem on two different harps in D. The problem is worse on the Lee Oskar, which seems much tougher to play. continue reading...

Winslow,
We spoke of the two different tunings available with the Fabulous ....Just and Equal.
I ordered the Just because my internet searching made me believe this tuning is best for playing Blues...
however...the 5 draw which is tuned flat....sounds hideous to my ears...Davids songs use lots of 5 draws too. A 4/5 trill sounds awful..

I guess the Promasters must be Equal tuned because they sound more like what David plays.... continue reading...

Hi, Winslow, I actually have two questions for you, how do you bend a five note octave? I have only heard George Smith and Kim Wilson do this, I am a TBer, and, assume you bend like a diatonic, that is, hump the tongue. My second quest

ion is, how do you call the band for a William Clarke style of groove? It is usually a 12 bar blues but, I think they leave out the 5 chord at the end and just stay on the one. Any example of his off the "Rockin' the boat" are good examples. Thank You. Pete Grissim