Re: Valves/Windsaversand serious music

[Steve Jennings <100010.1152@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

And I agree with Hugh (for once). The real disadvantage of windsavers on
diatonics is the way they throw the tone of the unvalved reeds out of whack with
that of the valved ones, and to me that makes it a rarely usable concept - in
truth, you can only used the valved bends as passing notes, because (in my
experience) if you try to use them as "real" notes they have a distinct tendency
to sound strangled in relation to the tone of the rest of the instrument. On the
other hand, if you MUST (on a C harp) slide an Eb up into an E, then there's no
other solution I can think of right now (several parts to the breeze).

Now here's a radical idea, if you're into valves and "chromaticity" - in about
1920-something, Hohner started manufacturing a thing called a "chromatic
harmonica" :-) - this must, *surely* have some application??? (Absolutely no
flame intended) 

It's about tools for the job - there are plenty of ways to get a chromatic to
sound raunchy, (if that's the worry), most of which involve taking the valves
OFF. The point is that trying to bang a nail in with a screwdriver is no more
appropriate or long-term effective than trying to put a screw in with a hammer
(bad analogy, maybe, but you see what I mean, I hope).

I also agree with Tim - since when has a twelve tone scale been necessary for
the making of "serious" music?? (Again, not a flame).

We each have to do our own thing our own way, and my way is no more (or less)
"right" than anyone else's - my personal experience has, however, shown that
valves on diatonics are not very often for me (maybe I should use them more,
then I'd be able to get on with them better?)

The Suzuki valved diatonics were designed by Brendan Power - Phil Duncan was
publicizing the concept in his Mel Bay book, "Jazz Harp", published in 1985, and
he mentions it again in "Nashville Country Harmonica" (1993), so whatever else,
it's pretty clear, to me at least, that Suzuki didn't originate the idea. I was
experimenting with valves combined with country tuning in '83 or so, and I'd
been using what is now known as the "Melody Maker" tuning for a number of years
before Lee Oskar started marketing it, and was devastated to discover from Steve
Baker's "Harp Handbook" (on its first publication) that the tuning "has been
known to filing freaks for years". All of which goes to show that there's
nothing new under the sun, I guess.


Steve Jennings,
Editor, Harmonica World