David's Tip of the Day: Play Softly to Save $ on Harmonicas

Playing loud is the #1 killer of harmonicas.

Each reed is a spring... a spring that travels in and out of the reed slot 880 times per second for a 7+ on your A Harmonica (1,760 for the 10+!). When playing louder, the reed doesn't travel faster (faster vibration equals a different pitch), it travels farther. The louder you play, the farther the reed travels in its arc and places stress on the base of the reed (this is where a reed breaks... right at the hinge... near the rivet).

The softer you play, the longer your reeds last (by the way, that's the whole idea behind playing custom harmonicas, so we can play softer).

If you play in the car... and many of us do... keep in mind that the louder your vehicle, the louder you'll tend to play to compensate for vehicle and road noise.

Two students, independent of each other (they're not ride-sharing ;-), complained of blowin' through harps REAL fast and were questing the quality of manufacturing, how much they cost to replace, and that their kids weren't going to have any college fund left soon. Both students drive huge diesel trucks and get the majority of their practice done while driving. Can you figure out why they're blowing through harps so quickly? ;-)