The Hand effect (tremlo) advices

jbone · Veteran Member

RE: The Hand effect (tremlo) advices

toamille · Veteran Member

Thanks for the Post harp fish. I've never heard of ryan before. I will have to check put his site.

Kenneth · Veteran Member

Wow I diden't even knew that there were so many diffrent hand techniques 8-)

-- Edited by Kenneth at 13:05, 2006-06-11

HarpFish · Member

I came across something about this on a listserv. There is a 7-minute streaming video called "Hand Techniques for Amplified Harp" by a guy named Ryan Hartt in which he demonstrates holding the harp, mic, and several common hand effects. It can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2grIYzis_c

DutchBones · Senior Member

Stay with it and you'll get there for sure :biggrin:
If you have a DVD player you should check out "The American Folk Blues Festival" series.
Lots and lots of great blues by the best of the best, including SBWII, Walter Horton, Little Walter, Big Mama Thornton, Dr.Isaiah Ross and Jr.Wells, it doesn't get any better.
All recorded in Europe for tv with top quality sound in black and white. (makes feel like you made a time slip when you watch it)

Good luck!

Kenneth · Veteran Member

Hi DutchBones thx for responding back, it's great with a community like this here on the forum.

And About Sonny Boy Williamson, I'm already on it searching through http://www.gofish.com, and youtube.com after clips with Sonny Boy, I manage to find some right away

SBW II

Sometimes seeing the thing done on a clip, makes things way easier to understand, looking at the clips I can see what you mean about SBW II damm his great on that harp. 8-)

I'm Not giving up I gotta nail this one here.

-- Edited by Kenneth at 08:00, 2006-06-09

-- Edited by Kenneth at 08:04, 2006-06-09

-- Edited by Kenneth at 08:09, 2006-06-09

DutchBones · Senior Member

Hi Kenneth,

quote:"I can hear some diffrence although im very much in doubt if it's just me that's increasing the volume with my mouth, or if it's really is my hand effect at work"
Thats the thing, try to keep your blow note for 5 to 10 seconds WITHOUT increasing or decreasing pressure/volume. If the tone(volume) is even without the tremelo effect and if it changes when using your tremelo, you now that the change in volume is caused by your hand effect.

With pivotting (comes from "pivot" to spin around a center) I mean, when you are holding your harp with both hands and you open and close your right hand, you move your right hand away from the harp but keep the edges of your hands (near your wrist) connected to your left hand wrist. So your finger move for away but your wrist stays in the same position. (think of it like swatting or fanning away a fly or musquito)
Of course there are plenty other ways the get a tremelo (like moving your whole left hand away like you are trying to cool off hot cofee. Just take a look ot Sonny Terry or SB Williams II, you'll know what I mean.

Hope this helps, good luck!
:biggrin:

-- Edited by DutchBones at 03:26, 2006-06-09

Kenneth · Veteran Member

thx. for you answer just have one question pivotting? what does that mean, I tried to look it up, but I can't seem to get the meaning of it.

But thx for your reply, I will get right to it when I get home from work, sadly my kind of job (Hotline) don't allow me to bring out the trusty C-Harp (although it's in my jacket) 8-)

oh and if anyone else has some great advice, do keep them coming, it's great to hear form diffrent people.

Edit "I got home and tried it out, and yes I can hear some diffrence although im very much in doubt if it's just me that's increasing the volume with my mouth, or if it's really is my hand effect at work 8-)

-- Edited by Kenneth at 08:49, 2006-06-08

-- Edited by Kenneth at 20:45, 2006-06-08

DutchBones · Senior Member

Hi Kenneth,
Why don't you try this:
Cup your harmonica, play a single note (2 or 3 blow) for as long as you can while pivotting your right hand (assuming you are holding your harmonica with your left hand). If you speed up the opening and closing of your right hand, the soft "Wah Wah" sound will change to a sound simular to a throat vibrato.
Next, play a long single blow note again. This time open and close both hands (like you are trying to swat away some flies with your fingers) but keep the palms of both hands together. It should be a speedy movement when you open your "cup", changing the speed of closing your "cup" will decide how this "Wah" effect will fade. (Sonny Boy Williamson II was an expert on this)
The most important thing is that you keep a constant single note without increasing or decreasing the volume.
A change in volume will naturally occur when you open and close your hands, because all you are doing is muffeling (is that a word?) the sound that comes out of your harp, but that's what you are aiming for.
If you listen to my posting at the Online Jam you can hear a lot of tremelo. Of course this is just one way of doing it and other people perhaps do it differently, but it works for me so you might want to give it a try.

Good luck!:biggrin:

Kenneth · Veteran Member

I seem to have a bit trouble with the Hand effect, when I make an aircup, and tries to open and Close my hands, I get the Feeling that Im just intensifying the volume with my mouth, instead of creating the tremlo effect, So I think right from the start I am doing something wrong.

Maybe some of you in here have some great advice, to a hand effect newbie 8-)