XB-40 Retunings?

["George Brooks" <gbrooks1@xxxxxxxxx>]

Tom Albanese and Michael Peloquin, both of whom I greatly admire, have
recently posted concerning this thread, in each case opening with the same
quotation from a recent and provocative post by Chris Michalek, who I also
greatly admire.  This is the quote:

>I agree with Mr. Brooks on his thoughts
>regarding the xb40.  With the standard
>diatonic more than half of the users can't
>play in tune.

This gives the impression that I expressed the opinion that half of all
players cannot play the diatonic harmonica in tune.  But I never said, or
even implied this in the post with which Chris was agreeing.  I was
responding to the assertion of Tim Moyer, who I also greatly admire, that
"it requires some additional discipline to fully exploit the possibilities
[of the XB-40]."  I argued "that the XB-40, while opening up great new
avenues of expression, requires additional discipline not only to fully
exploit the possibilities, but merely to play in tune."

Chris's post and those that followed are extremely interesting, but the
thought that 50% or 90% of people cannot play the diatonic harmonica in tune
comes from him, not me.  My entire post is reproduced below.

George


Post of 2/2404 reproduced:

Tim Moyer wrote:

>The XB-40 was designed to provide
>more flexibility in the bends, and not
>as a sort of augmented standard diatonic,
>but it requires some additional discipline to
>fully exploit the possibilities.

I would argue that the XB-40, while opening up great new avenues of
expression, requires additional discipline not only to fully exploit the
possibilities, but merely to play in tune.

Chromaticity on the thing?  I look forward to seeing what, and who, emerges.
I agree with Pat Missin that it's probably as difficult to play in F# on a
XB-40 in C as it is on a standard C diatonic set up for overblows and
overdraws.  But I don't know; my opinion, unlike Pat's, is based on only
short amounts of playing time on the XB-40 on a couple of occasions, and I
would love for someone to contradict me with a post along the lines of "It's
actually quite easy once you realize that...."

I don't have an XB-40 yet.  I'm too busy learning to play a Marine Band
(chromatically).

George