Re: [Harp-L] "Harp Preparation" Prior to a Gig



No beer: makes my tongue feel "fat" from the salt.

..tough one if it's free......


No sugar drinks like pepsi: sugar in the saliva gums up the reeds sometimes.

..brings forth too much saliva too.


I eat at least 2 hours before playing so I don't feel loaded during the gig.

..and sweet peppers, cooked or raw, are best avoided altogether. We played in a restaurant for Burns Night on Tuesday, and at 9.30 I was confronted by a huge plate of haggis, swede and mash which it would have been insufferably rude not to eat. I'd already eaten before going out. I've never had to sit so bolt upright to play in my life.


a quick, quiet blow on the harps to test them. If they're is something wrong
I pull a harp in that key from my back-ups and put the unusable one in my
coat for repair at a later date. I always carry (3) of each key for such
contingencies.

..SP20s seem prone to drift out of tune very slightly. My older ones often need one or two reeds adjusted a few cents.


trim my mustache

..especially if playing Lee Oskars or, I've recently discovered, XB40s. If you've failed to carry this vital step you'll need Kleenex to wipe the tears from your eyes.


Steve


http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/trad_irish_harmonica HEAR my CD clips: http://www.gjk2.com/steveshaw/cd.htm READ review of my CD: http://www.irishmusicreview.com/sshaw.htm






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