Ricci Hammers Hohner Harps

In a YouTube vidlette (link below) harp impresario Jason Ricci capped off an interesting and informative segment on custom v. out of the box harps with a scathing critique of Hohner's product quality. As Ricci is a Hohner player I was initially shocked, although in hindsight, I should have seen it coming.

Ricci had an OOTB Marine Band, a significantly modified Joe Spiers Marine Band and a self-customized Golden Melody, which is his harp of choice. During a roughly six minute span Ricci played similar riff sequences on each. It was obvious that the custom MB was far superior to the OOTB MB. Louder, with a noticeably richer and even tone across the entire spectrum. The results on the OOTB MB were wildly disparate. Some notes sounded fine while others seemed pinched and thin. This is indicative of air leaks and improperly gapped reeds as well other pseudo-esoteric issues that are beyond my understanding. Poor quality sums it up nicely though. Ricci's GM was loud, with a clear tone and an oddly, although mysteriously seductive, egyptian flute-like quality to it.

Ricci then went on to say that out of the box Hohner harps are "terrible, almost a waste of money". He said that giving Hohner credit for the MB and GM would be akin to crediting the guys who delivered the 2x4s for constructing the building he was in. Hohner harps are raw material for craftsmen to modify into playable instruments. Pretty harsh, but his demo speaks for itself. Also, this guy is one of the best harp players in the world. I'm going to take his word for it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_g_Mi1R0vsM

Bend It Like.........

Alright, there really are 4 notes to be found on the 3 draw. I'm not saying that I didn't believe it, just that I wasn't sure that I would ever be able to play them. I did it today, accidentally, at just under 80 mph while passing a semi on Route 14 heading north out of L.A. It was exactly 0927 under mostly sunny skies with the barometric pressure holding steady at 30.57 millibars. As I was hitting the triple and quad bends I even actuated the turn signal with my left (non-playing) pinkie to let the truck know that I was moving back into the right lane. I was so shocked that for several seconds I drove transfixed, replaying the sequence in my head and counting the notes. Yep, definitely 4 distinct "wahs". At this point the truck driver, who was close enough to tap my bumper, gave me a couple foghorn blasts at about 130 db which broke my reverie and nearly broke my water. But as any guy with a passable 3 hole draw would do I sucked it up and very coolly sped away. Wah, wah, wah, wah!

Embouchure Emergency: The Bone Is Dry

Embouchure: "The use of lips, tongue, teeth and facial muscles in playing a wind instrument".

I've noticed that lately after about twenty minutes of practice I'm having difficulty hitting single notes with any regularity. I figured that it was obviously fatigue of the facial muscles but it got me thinking about my embouchure and embouchures in general. After a short period of research I discovered that were more than a few types. I also realized that I was using many of them including the Farkas, Stevens, Maggio and even a modified Costello which is now known as either the Farkas, Stevens or Maggio, I forget which.

As an experiment I began to monitor the type of embouchure I was using at any given time and came up with a sequence during a short Little Walter riff that looked something like this: Farkas, Farkas, Stevens, Maggio, Maggio, modified Costello, Farkas, Farkas. Farkas. Tabbed out it goes: F F S M M mC F F F. It gets worse. I think at one point I also utilized the Reinhardt Pivot which I don't even think is possible unless you're playing a French horn or an oboe. My mouth was a mess.

I'm going to call this malady Random Spastic Embouchure Syndrome. If this is already taken please let know and I'll change it immediately. I've got several backups that are almost as good.

If anyone has a cure for this condition pass it along asap if you please. This is not one of those "cool" afflictions like ADD or Sex Addiction that affords you a measure of cultural gravitas. This is embarrassing.

PS Further research has convinced me that my problem can attributed to, um, dry lips. Without moist lips you can't slide the harp easily. The dry harp sticks to your dry lips and twists your mouth into myriad shapes that resemble classic embouchures but are not conducive to good tone. Squeals and squinks, yes. Time for some Chap Stick!