Re middle eastern scales?

[Pat Missin <pat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I wrote:

>The fifth mode of the harmonic minor E F G# A B C D E (the 
>Morning Prayer mode of tradition Jewish music) is also an 
>old standby for "exotic" flavouring. It's easily played in 2nd 
>position on a harmonic minor or 5th position on a standard 
>major. It also works really well in the lowest octave of a 
>standard major harp in first position, or in 2nd position if 
>you are good with the hole 4 overblow. Roland Van Straaten 
>makes good use of these two approaches.

It should perhaps add that Roland's website now has a few audio
examples of his playing that are well worth checking:

http://www.straaten.com/

I also wrote:

>The fifth mode of the double harmonic gives you the so-called
>Byzantine scale, or the Bhairav scale of Hindustani classical music E
>F G# A B C D# E. This lies well in 2nd position on a harmonic minor,
>but requires the hole 5 overblow. Alternatively, it sounds great in
>the lowest octave of a standard harp in first position with no
>overblows required.

Both this scale and the previous also play very well on a standard
major harp in 7th position (taking the one semitone bend in 2 draw as
your tonic), although you will need the hole 5 overblow to get the
upper tonic, or use a Melody Maker or country tuned harp. This is
almost the opposite of playing this scale in first position, with the
root, major third and fifth of the scale all winding up as bent notes.

I should also have added that anyone seriously interested in Arabic
modes should check out this web resource:

http://www.maqamworld.com/

 -- Pat.