Slidemeister (Chromatic & related only - no Diatonic discussion) > GENERAL CHROMATIC DISCUSSION

Dynamics

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rusty:
Dynamics as applied to music is the ability to play a full ranges of effects from a soft whisper to a shouted scream and everything in between. It can be used to articulate a passage, draw attention to a specific note, build up to a crescendo.

 A drill  I sometimes do is to play Mary had a little lamb, first I play it totally even. Same volume and tone to each note. Then I play around with playing some of those notes softer and some louder to see how I can really change the mood of the song. Often novice players fail to capitalize on dynamics ability to add emotion, movement and interest. This IMO leads to the overuse of vibrato

While dynamics is controlled by the player some instrument are better then others. I play a well known upper end harmonica respected for its tone but IMO does not excel playing dynamically. No matter how I blow the notes have pretty much the same volume to my ear

Bluesy:
Harmonicas have limited dynamic range compared with other wind instruments. When I want to accent a note or phrase, in addition to playing louder (if I can!), I add heavy vibrato. That accents the phrase or note significantly.
BTW, Rusty, aren't you going to reveal the name of that "well-known upper end harmonica"? You've got me wondering.

Bluesy//

Grizzly:
Of course limited, but not so much in the soft end. Amplification is an option, but I imagine that it flattens things out even more. But consider, as Bluesy alludes to, phrasing and accent. This is true on a lot of quiet instruments. Compensation means playing more expressively, more conversationally. A bit of silence just before an important note, for instance, is meant to grab the listeners' attention.

Tom

iowaplayer:
i play a hohner 64 and a hohner chord, and both harps are capable of reasonable dynamic range, imo.  it takes much better diaphragm and breath control to play soft, to be sure, but it can be done.  finding out just where the reeds start to sound and getting to be able to hit that point consistently is a matter of practice.  and, of course, that point is different at different places on the harmonica.  i really do think its a matter of practice.

the upper end of the dynamic range is limited by the size of the reed.  there's only so large a peturbation in ambient air pressure those poor little reeds can create, no matter how far they move.

on my chord, i can (and have) beat the crap out of a couple of the chords, especially the d-flat major (opening chord for ruby).  i used to hit that puppy so hard that i ended up cracking at least one of the reeds in a few of my harps.   needless to say, i've since learned not to be quite so enthusiastic about volume or attack.

if you really want to hear your dynamics, record yourself.  the tape recorder tells no lies.

iowaplayer

rusty:
"BTW, Rusty, aren't you going to reveal the name of that "well-known upper end harmonica"? You've got me wonderin"

 :o no  :o

I once made the observation (i alway regret making obsevations somehow) that the CX 12 felt like a toy. Not that it sounded like a toy or anything else just "felt like", perhaps as a result of it's light weight. Boy did you guys slam me for that one ;D

so to make up for that embarrassment I'll put forth that the CX 12 has pretty good dynamics for a harmonica.

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