[Harp-L] Building better harps- how?

["samblancato" <samblancato@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Vern Smith wrote:
>> I think it would be nearly impossible to start with an agenda that
>> requires us to quantify what each and every person prefers from
>> their harmonica to the point that we can measure and reproduce it
>> with a mechanical process.
>
> Then you despair of success before undertaking the task. You are
> punting on the first down. If you cannot relate player
> preferences to mechanical processes, then how can you improve harp
> performance

 

Vern, 

 

Are you sure you aren't either the Robot from "Lost in Space" or Mr. Spock
from "Star Treck"?  Seriously though, Vern, you're parsing this stuff out in
far too anal detail for anybody to get anything out of it.  I was talking
about having a work shop wherein people could share ideas and sort of 'show
and tell' - something beyond this forum which is extremely limited due to
its' all being in print without even any pictures.  If it's too structured,
everybody will get bogged down in things like what to do first and in
vernacular and what not. 

 

What ever you want to say about the "machine" aspects of the harmonica, the
fact still remains that it's played by people and there are as many playing
styles, draw/blow force pressures, bend pressures, etc., as there are
individuals.  For anyone to expect a harp tweaking workshop to TRANSEND ANY
AND ALL DEFICIENCIES OF ALL HARPS (Ta, Da!) is expecting way too much.
Anybody attending this kind of workshop, no matter how it's organized, will
have to fit what s/he takes from it into their own playing experience. And
here, I'm thinking more in terms of what tools work best, what kind of
gapping works best to loosen up holes 6 through 10, sealing, tuning, arcing,
and all the stuff the comes up on this list but is too abstract for the
printed page to carry it over to successful practice. 

 

I have both of Rupert Oysler's videos and while they're a good starting
point there is a lot of stuff he just doesn't touch on. He devoted a lot of
time on replacing reeds with a rivet remover- something I'm really not too
interested in although it's handy to know.  

 

When I opened this subject up for discussion I wasn't thinking of a
NASA-like engineering project. Jeeze-Louise!

 

Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh