True trill between second interval notes (blow/draw)
Hello David.
I wanted to ask if it is possible to do true classical trill between two adjacent notes, as in alternate blow/draw notes rapidly? Is there any particular technique for that without tearing the diaphragm apart ? :D
Btw I am currently a Level 1 student.
Regards
Thanks for replying. I am really willing to figure out a way as it breaks sort of a limitation, but for now I need to concentrate on the LOA stuff. :)
This is going to get a little off-topic, but with all respect, would it not have been better if you were precise with respect to such musical terms as glissando and shake?
In the video titled 'Harmonica's greatest asset' you demonstrate glissando as moving from e.g hole 1 thru 4 all blowing, yet the definition of glissando includes all the notes in between, so one would need to blow/draw sequentially from hole 1 thru 4 to get true glissando, including bends where necessary.
The resulting sound produced by the techniques is nice and all, but they are nevertheless not what you have named them and can lead to confusion when we perform in a group with players of other instruments.
Edit:
There's a discussion about glissando here : www.slidemeister.com/forums/index.php?PHPSESSID=bpva7er32lji5mearnjfmroe...
Regards :)
Hello Meghdad.
I use the term shake because it's more descriptive of what our head is doing for the technique. It's also a term I heard used before I started teaching many years ago by other harp players, so it was in the vernacular already. Also, the fact that a trill is commonly the interval of a whole step and ours is not, I thought it to be confusing to use the term trill.
A glissando is not a set interval of notes. On a string instrument or trombone it's a slide in pitch. It can also be fingered to be chromatic, diatonic, or any intervallic relationship the player wishes. The Harvard Dictionary of Music states...
"The execution of rapid scales by a sliding movement. In piano playing, the nail of the thumb or of the third finger is drawn rapidly over the white keys. The same technique can also be used on the black keys. A much more difficult feat is the glissando in parallel thirds, sixths..."
So, as you can see, it's up to the player what the intervals are. As harp players we're simply sliding, using all draws or blows.
Oh thanks for the explanation. I read a little about glissando in a theory book and jumped into conclusion too quickly. Sorry, I should have put it modestly. :) Anyways, I learned something, thanks! :)
No worries :-)
Hello Meghdad. Draw holes 6 and 7 are a whole step apart, give that a try and see if you like the sound. I have never heard a harmonica player do a trill between a draw and blow note, you may be the first... give it a try!