Re:[Harp-L] Poor Man's Chord harp--Diatonic Diminished tuning

["Tim Moyer" <wmharps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Gary Lehmann wrote:
> I just retuned an unsuspecting LO in C to a half-whole scale-so 
> it's two diminished seventh arpeggios, one for draw, one for 
> blow.
>
> I didn't see this tuning in Pat Missin's list-odd, since it 
> gives you a chromatic scale with the half step bends. And lots 
> of fun to jam on.
<snip>
> PS. I don't know about any standard diminished diatonic tuning,
> that's why I tried my hand at this one.

G wrote:
>  What you list is the tuning people generally mean when they talk 
> about "diminished tuning" for diatonic harmonica.  It is listed in 
> Pat Missin's "Altered States" TNGS005.TXT under 
> "Diminished Tuning - AS 5.3c"

Gary's tuning is very similar to the Diminished tuning detailed in 
Pat's Altered States AS 5.3c, the difference being the interval at 
hole 7 to the flat 5th, then picking up the pattern again with the 
ommission of the minor 3rd.  I assume this was done for convenience 
of tuning, to reduce the amount that the upper reeds would need to 
be moved.  

As I pointed out in a post about a month ago 
(http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/harp-l-archives/message/45148) 
it's far easier to make a regular diminished tuned harp starting 
with solo tuning, where there there is a regular pattern repeating 
every four holes per octave.  In fact, starting with a 12-hole solo 
tuning, the draw plate only has three notes that need to be 
altered.  The blow plate is a little more involved, but nothing more 
than three semitones.  

-tim