2 draw
hi kinya. thanks for the great videos on gapping. they've helped a lot but i still have an issue with the 2 hole draw. i have an A harp, special 20. with my tongue in the normal relaxed position, laying flat (not humped up to bend) i get no sound. i do the same thing on my C harp and it sounds fine (or the 1 draw and 3 draw on my A harp). the only way i can get sound out of the 2 draw is to put my tongue (about the 1/3 point behind the tip) to the roof of my mouth behind my upper teeth and point the tip of my tongue below my lower teeth (creating a small chamber behind my teeth).
out of the box the harp was gapped wide on both the blow and draw so i narrowed both gaps and that did improve the sound and the ease with with i could get sound by arranging my tongue as mentioned above; but still, if i lay my tongue flat i get no sound.
so at this point i'm at a loss for what gapping i should try. lower both reeds. lower the blow and raise the draw. btw, i am puckering. any thoughts. thank you. arron.
Hi Kinya. thanks for trying to help me with this. the ho ho ho did help to flatten my tongue out even more and improved the sound of the 2 draw. hopefully i can improve it with more practice and gapping, if you think the gapping could be improved. the first two pics are the 2 draw and the third is the 2 blow, in case that helps. any suggestions are appreciated. arron.
Good photos Aaron
The gapping of both your #2 draw and blow reeds are set too high--requiring excessive breath to sound the reeds properly.
My recommendation is to purchase a "fan" of feeler gauges from you local automotive supply store. Disassemble the gauges from the wand and pull out .008" (.20mm) and .09" (.229mm)
For the DRAW: set the gap to .008" This means you should be able to slide the gauge in/out of the reed gap without disturbing the reed. If the gauge does not pass through, the reed gap is set too low. If there is "slop" between the gauge, reed plate and reed, the reed is set too high.
For the BLOW: same as above, except use your .009" guage
Let us know your progress.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
thank you very much. i will re-gap them. have a great day. arron.
hi kinya. i've re-gapped and am still struggling to get a consistently decent sound out of the 2 draw. especially when trying to go from another hole to the 2 draw, even though i'm trying my darndest to keep my embouchure the same. i was experimenting and decided to plug my nose with my free hand and miraculously a good sounding 2 draw came out. it didn't seem to matter much if i changed my embouchure and toungue position, it still sounded pretty good. unfortunately i ran out of breath real fast and as soon as i unplugged my nose i had the same issue. have i been missing this all along in my playing, that i'm supposed to not let air in through my nose? and if so, how is that achieved without attaching a clothes pin to my nose. or is air coming in through the nose normal and i still need to work on embouchure and gapping. thank you for your thoughts. arron.
after my last post i searched the site for the issue of breathing through the nose and learned that it is best not to breathe through the nose; and i found some tips for trying to close off the nasal cavity written by david barrett. i tried the techniques and none of them worked for me although admittedly i've not spent a lot of time on them. dropping the jaw as if yawning does help some but it's very uncomfortable. so i'm not sure where to go from here, work on technique or send my harp out for customizing.
Hi Aaron, I was brought up in the 60s--when music in the school was an important component of our education (imagine that ;o) I have played everything from the Clarinet, Coronet, Tromonium, Baritone, Tuba, and Eb Sousaphone Tuba. I can honestly say that mastering the harmonica has been the most challenging for me.
Don't dispair! Keep up with your lessons and woodshed, woodshed, woodshed (did I mention, woodshed?)
What's your rush anyway?
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
Hi Kinya,
well we have something in common; I also grew up in the 60's. I was into sports not music and am learning the harmonic quite late in life. I was so musically challenged that when we had the mandatory concert (around 4th grade) playing the recorder I faked it–happily moving my fingers up and down on the instrument as if I knew what I was doing. My playing the harmonica is purely for my own enjoyment; I’m not out to play publicly. So I’m not in any particular rush to be a master but I do want something resembling a musical note to come out of each of the holes on that darned A harp so I can enjoy practicing david’s study songs. One way or another I’ll get it figured out--and i'm sure i'll have more questions for you and david along the way. I appreciate you trying to help and have a good day.
Hi Arron, good to hear from you. Sorry your A harmonica is giving you so much grief.
Before you lowered the gap on the 2 draw reed, did it play at all (regular pitch, not a bendable note)? If so, did it match the pitch of your 3 blow?
Are you surrrrre your tongue was completely flat? Remember, the reeds on the A (and G) harmonicas have more weight than your C harmonica, and require a relaxed embochure to tickle the #2 draw reed.
If Doctor Kinya was to peek into your mouth, would I find your tongue humped towards your upper pallet?
TRY THIS:
While pretending you are Santa Clause, look into the mirror and bellow out, "HO, HO, HO". The moment you see your tongue at the bottom on your mouth, put the harmonica to your lips and draw on the 2 ...
Could I trouble you to take photos of the #2 draw reed end view and side views, then post them back on this forum? This will go along ways towards being able to advise your next move.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya