kaitievoice
1 post
Oct 04, 2009
3:35 PM
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I am afairly new blues harpist. I am a poor girl and could only afford the Johnson major set. Yes I know they are low quality. I like Lee Oskar but this is what I could aford.
on some of the harps there are total dead notes or notes that will only play if you suck in with extreme force. I have tried tunin one. I was successful with all but the 2 dead notes. Can I fix them?
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arzajac
59 posts
Oct 04, 2009
4:00 PM
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I had the same problem. The problem went away as my technique got better. Especially for high notes, you really need to have the right embouchure to get the reed to sound.
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kaitievoice
2 posts
Oct 04, 2009
4:23 PM
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I can honestly say I don't think it's my embouchure. I have been playing for probably a year and a half now and mouth and toung manipulation are my srengths. I have done a bit of work with Bob Minor "harmonica Bob" and he agrees. And I have never had this problem before.
Could there be a place the air is leaking?
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Oisin
356 posts
Oct 04, 2009
4:47 PM
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Hey Kaitie...firstly welcome to the forum..good to have you on board.
The problem with your harps is probably a gapping one, i.e the gaps between the reed and the reedplate need to be adjusted so the reed plays freely. One of the Forum contributers, Harpwrench(the great Joe Spiers) posted a couple of youtube vids here showing how to adjust the gaps yourself. It takes a little patience but you'll be amazed at the differnce it will make. I'll try and find that post and link it here for you.
Oisin
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Oisin
357 posts
Oct 04, 2009
4:57 PM
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Here you go...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh79GaDVmC8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qkx7a5mAKA&feature=related
Oisin
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walterharp
77 posts
Oct 04, 2009
6:37 PM
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welcome katie,
A proper reed should not need lots of force to play, it is likely gapping or maybe a stuck reed. if they are draw notes, you can take off the cover plates and then try to gently plink the reeds with a very thin object that can fit under them like an index card. if they are too close to slide a card under them then the gap is too narrow, so it needs to be widened. You will need to gently push the reed out from inside the blow hole and slowly push it up higher so the index card fits under the reed. If it is still stuck and will not plink there might be a little burr that is holding it back. The easiest way to deal with that is to get the little metal thing from a cd security plastic thing, or one from other electronic merchandise. You cut the plastic thing open and there is this little very thin strip of metal. You run this up and down between the side of the reed and the plate in the reed slot and it takes out the burs.. then try to plink again. always work gently or you will bend or break the reed.
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