Harmonica Valves - Why?

[@cristianbalate]

Lovely lesson mate, beautiful information. I am still struggling to ben a note, so I am impressed by your technique. Best!

[@FrankDudgeon]

Really well done and informative video. I just today received an Easttop Forerunner 2, and a diatonic on the way. I’m a total newbie trying to decide which type to play - or maybe both. I’m leaning toward chromatic but diatonic looks like such fun. Of course I have your Harmonica for Dummies book. Research came up with so many positive reviews it was an obvious necessity. Still trying to decide on a chromatic method book. Thank you so much for your excellent videos.

[@kungfumachinist]

This video came up while my Seydel Non-slider was disassembled to service the valves. Wait, I thought you said they didn't have valves! Ha, it's a custom "configurator" harp. It's diminished-tuned and half-valved. Seydel recommended the half-valving, valves to cover the draw reeds only, of course. All the valves are on the inside of the chambers and somehow that means they don't have as much of a sticking problem. So I have a strong draw bend, 1/2 step, and a slight blow bend available, usually just to add color, not get to a different note. I do think it's harder to play cleanly given the extra movement involved, but overall I love it. Great sound on all reeds, minimal maintenance required. Great video, thanks for the breakdown.

[@winslowyerxa8505]

The stock NonSlider, like the standard C I played in the video, is unvalved, and it's one of the main claims for the instrument. That said, I've heard from others that the low tunings do come half-valved, and, evidently, also your custom configured one.

[@kungfumachinist]

@@winslowyerxa8505 Hey, I wasn't "challenging" your claim/statement about it, just sharing more information about Seydels.

[@bergethomasian2431]

I have been wondering about this topic for years! Nicely done. Thanks Winslow.

[@AdamWestUS]

Informative as always. Thank you Winslow!

[@ramblin_harp]

Very informative video! Answering a lot of questions I had concerning the harmonicas you showed. Thanks for the video! 🙏🎶

[@Norlo28]

Very interesting! Keep these videos coming.

[@hancovali]

Thank you for this clear explanation

[@GeekandUke]

So useful, Winslow! Thank you so much!

[@krishnanRan]

Very informative. Thank you.

Amazing content!

[@rajeev7898]

In Forerunner,valves have been dispensed away by sub dividing the reed chamber.Thus blow reed and the draw reed are in separate reed chambers unlike the valved chromatic in which the blow reed and the draw reed is in the same reed chamber.

[@winslowyerxa8505]

Separate chambers by themselves do not compensate for lack of valves. I have owned chromatics with those chamber separations that were still unacceptably leaky. Consider that air from the blow chamber will still leak in when playing the draw note and will leak out during a blow note via the draw reed, as both chambers still share the same moving air stream. The Forerunner achieves its airtightness through overall tighter design, not just separate chambers.

[@bilbowaggins3036]

Very informational, thank you. I recebtly bought a chromatic, and on the three lowest notes, i hear a very audible flapping sound that sounds honest after i play the three lowest holes. It doesn't sound like a buzz and it's not stuck -- it just sounds like something flapping its wings. Any idea of what i should do to fix this?

[@winslowyerxa8505]

Do you hear the sound while you're playing the note or after. If aftr, it may simply be the reed vibration dying down. It'd be helpful to hear a recording of what you're talking about.

[@bilbowaggins3036]

@@winslowyerxa8505 I responded with a link to an audio file, but youtube deleted it for sone reason. Anyway, the noise is after I blow or inhale, like an echo. It's a very fluttery sound, not harsh or metallic, but clearly audible to other listeners ears, like the rapid fluttering of eings echoing back at me

[@Jack-fs2im]

briliant

[@BobU2b1]

great info and presentation. Are you related to Cabot Yerxa of the museum in Desert Hot Springs?

[@winslowyerxa8505]

Thanks. All Yerxas are descendants of a man who arrived in New York in 1642, so yes, distantly related.

[@jeremyhoyland3229]

Thanks for the video Winslow. I have a Foreunner that I use a lot for practicing simply because it doesn't need warming up, I play an SCX 64 when performing and the Foreunner doesn't sound as good as that, but it's fine for use at home. Any tips on stopping valves sticking would be welcome.

[@Raj-ym4cu]

I have the Forerunner version 1.0 ... I really wish I could bend and pulse the notes like you did. I can somehow manage to bend some draws but the blows are hard. Real hard, to me that is.

[@winslowyerxa8505]

The blows won't bend un an unvalved harp like the Forerunner. But you can pulse your breath with your throat muscles to create a type of vibrato.

[@arunwedhikar1983]

Sir, due to valves..my Suzuki scx 56 is diffcuilt to play. Most of the time valves stuck to reeds..so it dosen't sound properly. Every time, I do warmup it, but it dosen't work. Less benefit but more distrubance..thats what I want to remove those valves...what will happen, if I do this..? Please guide me..thanks!🙏🏻

[@winslowyerxa8505]

Do you brush your teeth and clean your mouth before playing? This is your first line of defense against sticking valves. Removing valves will reduce airtightness and efficiency. If you remove the coverse from the harmonica and remove the valves visible on the outside of the reed block, you will lost some airtightness and volume. If you remove the reedplates from the comb and also remove the inside valves, there is a good chance that the harmonica will become very airy and leaky, perhaps to the point of being unplayable. I would suggest that you completely disassemble the reedplates from the comb and give them a bath in lukewarm water, swishing them about in the water, and then letting them dry. If you have access to an ultrasonic cleaning bath, even better. Then reassemble the harmonica and test its playability. But remember that good oral hygiene is essential for valve health.

[@arunwedhikar1983]

@@winslowyerxa8505 Thank you so much sir, for yor advice.🙏🏻 Let me tell you that, I always brush well..before playing..and I take care of the harmonica like my child. Now, I am sure that I should not remove the valve. Thanks a million...! 🙏🏻😍

[@arunwedhikar1983]

But one more thing Sir... Some of the Harmonicas are without valves... Even though, they are non valve, they provide good sound and also we can easily play it. We don't even feel, the air licking problem while perform. They are very smooth and effortlessly we can play the song. According to me, question does not arive to stick the valve on the reed..but still I am confused. How it happens...? Please kindly explain me Sir..!🙏🏻😍🌹

[@winslowyerxa8505]

@@arunwedhikar1983 I'm not sure what you're asking. Are you asking what causes a valve to stick to the reedplate, or are you asking how to ad a valve to a reed? It's true that the new models without valves play with more airthightness than a vavved instrument with the valves removed. But all unvalved instruments lose strength of sound.

[@swinginonthespiral8765]

Thank you for this explanation. I was confused on the difference of technique and tonal qualities of isolated vs dual reed bending, but hearing you say that it's a tradeoff between range and volume/stability/complexity, it makes more sense. When you say dual reed bending has more complexity, you mean to say that there's more notes heard (the other reed + overtones)? What about stability? I would think that more valves would add to stability, but the inverse is true. Why is that? What, other than tuning/temperament, is the difference between a diatonic and chromatic, if neither has valves or a slide? Similarly, what's the difference between a diatonica half-valved and a chromatic half-valved? And what makes a harmonica fully-valved vs half-valved? Thanks

[@winslowyerxa8505]

The complexity and stability of dual-reeds both come from the fact that two reeds are cooperating to sound the same note. Two reeds producing the sound creates more complexity in the overtones heard and overall tone color. They also reinforce each other in both achieving the same result. Valves take away that dual-reed relationship, resulting in a simpler tone color and, because one reed is acting alone, in creating a stable bend, where you're persuading a reed to do something it doesn't otherwise do - vibrate at a rate different from what its length and weight distribution do naturally (when you pluck a reed and let it vibrate, it sounds esssentially the same note you get when you activate it with airflow).

[@winslowyerxa8505]

Half valvewd is where only half the reeds are valved and the other half aren't. Usually this means that the draw reeds are valved in all holes of a chromatic and in HOles 1 thru 6 on a diatonic in standard tuning (in Holes 7-10 the blow reeds will be valved and not the draw reeds.) Valving the draw reeds mans the blow notes will be louder, as no air leaks out through the draw reeds, and also means those notes become bendable, as the draw reed has no influence on the pitch of the blow reed.

[@swinginonthespiral8765]

@@winslowyerxa8505 Thank you for your answers, Winslow. Cheers

[@douglasmochinski8234]

Isn’t that the original EastTop Forerunner you’re using and not the Updated 2.0 ? The updated 2.0’s have a transparent, white looking comb.

[@winslowyerxa8505]

Yeah, you're right. Somehow I picked up the wrong harp. I have them both, and I don't find much of a difference between them. But still, I should have gotten that right. I'll see what I can do to correct it in post.

[@NiekopTube]

Seydel non-slider; the best invention since the chromatic harmonica was devellopped! B.t.w. your miking (very close up and loud) could make a big difference in sound 😞

[@winslowyerxa8505]

The NonSlider is very airtight but suffers from the extra work to move between top and bottom rows (slide is a much more elegant mechanism) and different timbres for blow and draw notes, which are made more even by valves. My mic was at the same distance for all played samples, so was not a factor in any differences in loudness.

[@NiekEdeling]

Very interesting, but the sound quality could be much better: your "soft" voice is perfect, but the harmonica's are (for me) much too loud and sharp; they deserve a better microfone or simply less loud recording :-(

[@brunobeckers4702]

You're showing the Forerunner 1.0. NOT the 2.0!

[@winslowyerxa8505]

Yeah, I know. I put a title under that part to make a correction. Is it not visible? That said, for me there is little difference in sound or response between the two.

[@danielsheltraw1270]

When am I going to see someone really play the non slider chromatic? Can it be played a fluidly as a slider chromatic? None of the very few KZbin demos answer this important question.

[@winslowyerxa8505]

I think the slider is a more elegant way of playing as it requires less motion and less interruption in air flow.

[@garygullikson6349]

Why does his hair undulate like that?

[@winslowyerxa8505]

It's a byproduct of the green screen that is replaced with an artificial background of artwork. I hope you find the actual content more interesting than that.

[@garygullikson6349]

@@winslowyerxa8505 The guy's knowledge and technique are beyond "amazing"

[@winslowyerxa8505]

@@garygullikson6349 Thanks. You're talking to "the guy."