Re: Get a chromatic?(warning-LONG)

[Joe and Cass Leone <leone@xxxxxxxx>]

A warped persons look at the circle of fifths.

It all started (birthday) Sept 1951, when a 9 yr old boy bought a 
Marine Band at the British PX in Trieste Italy. This was at the time 
and place of the beginning of the cold war. Father was a labor attache 
with the occupation forces. Mother was an interpreter with radio free 
Europe. The day the boy bought the diatonic, the cashier (Italian 
civilian) got in a conversation with the boy. While it was in Italian, 
it went something like this:
cashier: Ragazzo, whattta you got dere?
boy:       Un armonica.
cashier: Whadda you wanna play quesa "Toy" when you canna play "Un 
Chromatico"?

OK, so boy buys diatonic. Plays with it for a couple weeks, finds it 
limited. One day while running for the school streetcar, he drops the 
thing and as luck would have it (or maybe fate), the second HALF of the 
streetcar (it was 2 piece), runs over the marine band.

We jump ahead to 20 March 1955. Boy is now exactly 12 1/2, goes to the 
American PK in Naples Italy to buy a swiss army knife. While there he 
spots harmonicas. The words of the cashier come back to haunt him. He 
leaves with a brand new Hohner 40 reed. Now there were only 3 kinds of 
music you could listen to in Italy. One was the armed forces radio out 
of Frankfort Germany. Mostly 30s & 40s stuff to cater to the people 
semi-permanently stationed there. Since these was generally officers 
(and older), the music was geared to THEM. Second was Indigineous 
Italian music. Nice but too many mandolins. Then there was what "boy" 
wanted to hear. Short wave from Wien, Praha, Buda-Pesht. GYPSY 
shit..yeah!

My problem was I wanted to play this stuff and I didn't want to spend a 
LIFETIME trying.

I view the circle of fifths a little differently than most. Maybe it 
will seem warped to the educated, but I always felt as if there were 12 
roads/streets leading into a TRAFFIC circle. The outer lane was the 
major, the inner was the key signature and the inside was the MINOR 
lane. ALL the notes have addresses. You and your harmonica are the 
vehicle and your job is to visit these notes in various assorted 
variations to "deliver the mail" (so to speak). Mr Blowceefour lives at 
hole 4 (first floor). Mrs Blowceefive lives at hole 5 (first floor). 
Miss Drawbeesharp lives at hole 4 (SECOND floor). The "slide" gets you 
upstairs or downstairs. I think you get the idea.

Heres the BEST part. You only have to learn this "route" ONCE. N O  O N 
E ever moves. They live there forever. AND, everyone you need HAS an 
address. No guessing who "doesn't" have a hole (like a homeless 
person), and you have to try to locate them somewhere in a hall BETWEEN 
addresses or somewhere in the stairwell BETWEEN floors.

No there's several ways you can look at an intersection. It can be just 
a crossroad, or maybe only a 3-way intersection, maybe FIVE roads lead 
in and out. The circle of fifths has TWELVE. Now you can come in on F 
major avenue in the outer lane, cross over the key signature lane and 
exit on D minor in the inside lane. You can ALSO come in on F major ave 
in the outside lane, cross over the middle key signature lane and exit 
on G minor street.

The problem I see with the diatonic is that MANY avenues are missing 
and it's as if the lanes are closed off with Jersey barrier (those 
concrete dividers). Sooo, now you and your harp (THE vehicle) have to 
make your own lanes. This has to be done by getting THROUGH (or over) 
the barriers (wreck much?). Then, to get to some of the addresses you 
must drive ACROSS the grassy fields, vacant lots, THROUGH the woods, 
and as this weren't enough, you are looking for people (notes) which 
AREN't there, OR (more correctly) are HIDING from you.

While this CAN be done, the wear and tear on your "Vehicle" will be way 
high on the "wear factor". So this (and ONLY this) is why I feel that 
the proper tool should be used for a job. If you can do it with a 
diatonic, you have my undivided HUGE respect. But if a diatonic is so 
hot why did someone decide that richter wasn't cutting it so came out 
with natural minor, then there's HARMONIC minor, then diminished, then 
augmented. No escape for chromatics either as there's Bee-Bop, 
diminished, augmented, also.

I have ALWAYS been for experimentation, and feel it is the only way to 
tame this monster we have created. The harmonica hasn't been completely 
"Wrung-Out" YET. There's plenty of room for the next "phenominon". Just 
make sure you know what you're getting into.

Well, what happened was the boy (remember him?) played the chromatic 
until he was 16 and then moved on to other things. In 1983 (at age 41) 
he came "Back". (Ironically) for the first 10 years he played mostly 
DIATONIC. In fact, most of his  bigger appearances have been with 
diatonic.  Now he plays both almost equally. So trust me, he is NOT 
prejudiced towards either harp.

Just remember what street you want to travel, what address you NEED, 
which inhabitant (Note) you wish to deliver mail to, which floor they 
are on. Remember, you must make your rounds rain OR shine....no 
excuses. No MISSED notes. No strange hallway, stair well, elevator 
shaft, or "behind the cardboard packing box" addresses.

smokey-joe