[Harp-L] Re: putting my money where my mouth is - the importance of sealing the front of the harp



John, I'm not sure what you're saying but certainly if the top holes are sealed against your cheek, that's just as good. You don't have to use your thumb. On the other hand if moving your thumb away doesn't change something, and those holes are now open, then there is a problem elsewhere with the seal on the front of the harp. There is a real physical effect here. Imagine a microphone a few inches in front of a small speaker in free air - contrasted with the same setup only with a cone around both making an airtight seal. In one case, the sound pressure level is considerably lower. When you truly seal all holes on the front of the harp, you can feel it on your hands, and if you're playing amplified, you just drive the crap out of the mic element. It DOES make a difference and instant changes your tone, with no change in embouchure. Now I'm not saying everyone should play this way all the time. I'm just saying if you haven't experienced this "sealed, direct coupled" approach then you're missing something very, very cool. It really, honestly does matter, and the front of the harp must be completely sealed. It works amplified or acoustic.

So I recorded a couple quick YouTube videos to demonstrate what I'm talking about:

Acoustic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRPaAyDTF5c

Amplified: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrAzDHiNw94

FULLY sealing the front of the harp DOES matter.




On Apr 5, 2009, at 1:14 PM, John F. Potts wrote:


Greg,

If i understand your description of the technique you use, what you are doing deepens your embouchure, makes a larger oral resonance chamber, and tightens the seal of the mic cup, all of which will strengthen and deepen tone. I've got a pretty deep embouchure and a decent seal. I've been sitting here covering and uncovering the top holes of the harmonica with my thumb. The only time it affects my tone is when the thumb movement is pronounced enough to open the seal a little. But if I'm careful to keep the seal tight, covering or uncovering the top holes with my thumb has no effect on my tone or volume.

But the other aspects of what you describe will definitely affect tone, so if the thumb cover part of it helps you do the rest, then it affects tone, too. But not in and of itself as far as I can tell. So, I sort of agree with Ryan.

For newbies, there are variations on how tight one can/should cup the mic and whether to do a complete seal or leave a little vent space while otherwise keeping a tight cup, or whether to cup very tight or not. All of this affects tone. Depending on what type of sound the player is trying to get, these techniques may change depending on the characteristics of the particular mic you are using. In other words you may need to use a different grip variation on different mics to get the same basic tonal characteristic, depending on the performance characteristics of each mic. It all depends on what you want to sound like and the response characteristics of the mic you are using. What the mic is plugged into also my require that you vary your grip to get the sound you are after. This is what mic handling technique is about.

Btw, embouchure has a lot to do with this too. Here's an experiment lip pursers can try: Using deep embouchure and air flow from your diaphragm, draw or blow a chord keeping a tight cup/seal on the mic. Now, while doing that and keeping everything else the same, smoothly push the holes of the harp deeper into your mouth past your teeth. If you are doing it right, the effect on depth and fullness of tone is pretty interesting, especially when amplified.

JP




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