Re: Get a Chromatic

["d.m.fairweather" <dmf273@xxxxxxxxx>]

This conversation began because we were discussing the chromatic capabilities of the
XB-Melody.   The XB-Melody is an altered tuned "super"-diatonic that makes chromatic
playing much easier than on a standard diatonic or a stock XB-40.   Phil wisecracked
that if I wanted to play chromatically I should just get a bunch of chromatic harps.

And my point was that I almost always have an XB-Melody in my pocket but I would not be
likely to tote a satchel of chromatics with me wherever I go.

I have heard Howard Levy play Donna Lee or Sweet Georgia Brown or the blues in all 12
keys on one harp.   So someone asked why does he still carry harps in multiple keys? 
The simple answer is that even though it is POSSIBLE to play in all 12 keys on a
diatonic, some of those keys much more difficult than others.  So if the idea is to
play the best possible music, you probably want to play the best keyed harp for the
situation.

I enjoy playing in multiple keys on my XB-Melody because I believe that by practicing
the difficult keys it will somehow make me a better player in the easier keys.  And its
also just plain FUN.  I like driving around and being able to play with WHATEVER comes
up on the radio with just one harp and no buttons to push.

As for Phil's remarks about the bends on the XB-40 not being slippery - I didn't mean
to imply that ALL the bends were slippery - just the 12 notes which can ONLY be
achieved via "in-between" partial bends, and especially among those 12 notes, the ones
that can ONLY be achieved via "in-between" partial BLOW bends.  

On a key of C XB-40 try playing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in the key of F# starting
at blow 6.  You'll run into a few of those slippery bends.   Unless your mouth muscle
control is a lot better than mine, you may find it difficult to precisely attack and
then hold onto those in-between bends without any wavering.  Especially if you have to
jump to one of those notes from some distance away.  I'm not saying its impossible, but
its more work than I want to invest when there's a much easier alternative available in
the XB-Melody which gives every note in the chromatic scale its own stable location as
either an unbent or a fully bent note.