Re: [Harp-L] Sorry, it's combs again and again




----- Original Message ----- From: "B Boggs" <ceudoazul@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Harp" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 4:00 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] Sorry, it's combs again and again



Noting Vern's, and others, honest research on combs, I am intrigued with the idea of the vibration of the reeds being conducted to the ear and brain through bone.

Actually, there is no bone path unless you hold the harp in your teeth.


Putting an ear to a railroad track is an analogy.

I grew up a block from the main line of the Southern Railway from Atlanta to points north. As a youth, I tried many times put an ear on the track to hear a train from afar. I found that I could see it as soon as I could hear it. I concluded that it was a very dangerous practice.


The instrument is in the mouth near the ears and brain with bone and soft tissue- lined acoustic chambers (sinuses, Eustachian tubes, etc.) with vibrations doing all kinds of cosmic things.
Any way to measure these factors?

I played a harp with shop ear-protectors on to minimize the transmission through the air. What I heard was low in volume, thin sounding and, missing any detail that I could imagine revealing of the supposed nuances of sounds from different comb materials. Certainly I heard no "cosmic things". I also listened to someone playing the harp close up with my mouth open and closed. I heard very little difference. Anyone with a harp and a set of ear protectors could do the same thing.

I tried the same thing with a pair of Bose noise-cancelling headphones. The ear protectors seemed to do a better job.

Vern
Visit my harmonica website www.Hands-Free-Chromatic.7p.com







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