Half-tone difference (slide), and so different?
I go back irregularly to the chromatic, to test if my overall progress on the diatonic is helping. I still have a hard time sounding the 1 draw on the chromatic (and a bit also the 2 draw, to a lesser extent). The tone seems good (at first it wasn't, as for the diatonic) but now there is a slight delay before it comes, which ruins it all. Like it begins to choke, then sounds.
I was sure it was my technique and not some flaw of the harmonica, because if I open my nose, the delay is gone. So I thought it was still the same problem as for tone (uncontrolled bending), a level higher. I have not overcome that for months.
Suddenly I had the idea to try the same licks (of David's "No Sweat" lesson), only with the slide pushed... Only a half-tone higher, but what a difference! All sounds fluently.
I was surprised. Maybe there was a physical probem with the instrument, after all? I dared to open the harmonica (first time!) to clean the valves by sliding a kraft paper between them, as was explained in one of the other forum. It didn't change anything.
Now I don't know what to think. If it is still the same problem as for tone, that is unwanted bending: I had understood that it was a range of pitches that were "spontaneously" bending when not controlled. Since D, and somewhat G, are flawed, D# in-between should also, shouldn't it?
Is the half-tone indeed enough to get rid of the problem, all is normal; then I should just go on until I succeed?
Else, what could explain this delay/choking problem with 1 draw, which does not happen with the slide, but which is solved with opening my nose ?
UkuleleRob: yes, I thought of a valve problem, but would opening my nose solve it, then? This is the big doubt I have... I suspect it is my technique, not the good mouth cavity shape, but the difference with the slide on is so striking that I would welcome an explanation for that...
ÉricD:
Here's my two cents, which compares to the literally millions of dollars worth of information that I hope other, more experienced, players (like Winslow Yerxa) jump in with:
I play almost as much chromatic as diatonic. In my limited experience, the chromatic is a completely different instrument. And technique can be distinctly different.
It shouldn't be necessary to open one's nose to get the best sound from a certain chromatic reed. In some respects the breathing control of the nose is similar to that when playing diatonic.
BUT: One of the reasons that I mention checking out the valves (windsavers) is this: There are are few great chomatic blues recordings where the artist has chosen to play a C chromatic in third position in Eb (D#) rather than the more common D, and with keeping the button in for all notes (i.e., no use of the button for "in between" notes). And there are anecdotal stories about the artist doing so because the C-major reed plates (i.e., the plates used when the the button is out) and/or windsavers in the artist's C chromatic were hopelessly gummed up, broken, or out of tune. A good example is George "Harmonica" Smith's "Tight Dress." Whether these stories are actually true or not may not be the point. The reality is that even button-pushing folks like Mitch Kashmar spend a whole lot more time playing the notes on the C reed plates than on the C# (Db) plates, so that the condition of the harp's button-out and button-in plates may from time to time significantly differ.
AND: I've had experiences where a windsaver has stuck, causing a delayed note (a note that sort of snaps in), and where a more gentle blow or draw has freed the windsaver, where a stronger blow or draw had made it more resistant.
Both Kinya and Winslow have great advice on cleaning chromatic reedplates and windsavers, and deep in the history of this part of the forum there are a bunch of posts with advice concerning how best to keep a chromatic in playable shape. E.g., drinking only water and brushing/flossing one's teeth before playing, so as to avoid blowing "sticky" air into the harp; carefully using water to un-gum a stuck slide; warming the harmonica before and after playing it to reduce the risk of moisture affecting the windsavers; etc. My own approach includes all of the above, and I have a small stand with an electric heating pad (with a towel over it) that I use to warm my chromatics. And my go-to C is a Hohner CX-12, where the slide is removed for cleaning with just the touch of a button.
Best regards.
if you open your nose and the problem goes away, that's the strongest indicator that you're doing something in your breathing or air column shaping to inhibit the reed's vibration.That said, it's entirely possible that the adjustment of the slide-in reed is different from that of the slide-out reed, and that this is causing them to respond differently.
Generally speaking, a reed that is lower to the reedplate, especially at the tip, will respond quicker to lighter breath but will choke out quicker in response to increased flow.
You don't mention which model of chromatic you have, but if it's one held together by screws and not nails (like the original 270 and the Toots models), then you have the opportunity to completely removed the reedplates without getting out the butcher knives and nail pulling pliers.
Remember, the valve mounted over the draw reed is on the inside of the harmonica and can't be cleaned with the reeds mounted on the comb. If the reed's reluctance is the result of a sticky valve, that's the valve you need to clean.
With the reedplates dismounted, you can check the gapping of not only the outside (draw) reeds, but also the inside (blow) reeds. If a slide-in note responds more easily that a slide-out note, compare the gapping. If the reed that responds well is gapped higher (we're talking fractions of millimeters here; doesn't take much to change the response, and it's very easy to go too far and create the opposite problem) than the one that's stalling, then gently flexing the balky reed upward until it plays more easily may be the solution.
Again, getting back to models: on a straight-tuned harp like the 270, all the natural notes are on the upper reedplate and all the sharp/flat notes are on the bottom. However, most other models nowadays are cross-tuned, with slide-in and slide-out notes alternating hole by hole between top and bottom plate. Look at the harmonica with the slide out, then in, to determine which plate the affected notes are located on.
Ah, so maybe both problems are true: my mouth shape is still flawed, BUT the reed setting may help with the consequences!
My harmonica is a 270 Deluxe, so with screws, and a simple slide layout.
You say "a reed that is lower to the reedplate, especially at the tip, will respond quicker to lighter breath but will choke out quicker in response to increased flow". In my case, response is a problem; once it has responded, I can raise the volume. Yet you seem to imply that maybe the larger gap should be more responsive?
I juse made some tries at very weak volume (I never play loud, but here I mean really weak!):
- With slide on, I can start with a very weak breath, barely audible, and increase the volume continuously and with control. A real pleasure!
- With slide off, I have to take more breath (and time) to start a weak response, and when it is there and I increase the flow, the volume stays flat, and then suddenly a brutal increase comes. And the interesting thing: opening my nose doesn't help below that threshold. It helps only when aiming directly at the volume above that threshold.
- This is the first "proof" that convinces me the harmonica setting is really in cause, too, aside from my technical flaws!
Do you think this hints for a gap too high or low?
Anyway, thanks for your answer; I will compare the D and D# reed gappings, and let you know if I succeed in correcting it!
Compare the gaps between the two reeds. The setting for the one that responds well should be your guide for setting the other one, which I suspect is too high.
I have reduced the gap of draw reeds 1 and 2, and that was it.
There is still a tone difference when I open my nose, so I still have to find where I restrain the airflow, but the annoying response delay is gone.
My error was to think I was the only cause of the problem because opening my nose solved it. There were two causes...
Thanks for the help!
EricD:
Any chance playing with the slide in is working better because your valves (windsavers) for your C-natural reed slots have gotten gummed up?
If that's the case, I'm hoping that Winslow jumps in here with some ideas.