Re: [Harp-L] re: Single Harp Chromaticism Question
- To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
- Subject: Re: [Harp-L] re: Single Harp Chromaticism Question
- From: "Tim Moyer" <wmharps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 09 Feb 2006 18:45:50 -0000
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Paul wrote:
>> "If you are going to play everything on one harp, then why a "C"
>> harp? I believe that the "C" harp, for reasons that others on-
>> List can expound upon with much greater authority than me, has
>> some inherent 'problems' as far as tone etc . . . it has
>> something to do with the reed setup between C and D harps; Joe
>> Filisko actually went as far as making me a C harp tuned down
>> from a D harp for just that reason. He explained it to me at the
>> time, but I can't recall the specifics."
<then>
Jonathan R. Ross wrote:
> Are you sure it wasn't the other way around? The switch between
> the longer slot and shorter slot reed-plates happens at D on
> Marine Bands (IIRC) and I recall hearing about (and maybe buying--
> shows how many harps I own--can you say gearlust:) Richard Sleigh
> making a series of D-tuned harmonicas from what were Dbs just to
> get around the problem of the standard shorter slot D harps not
> being as easy to play and not lasting as long.
The slot length switch happens between the Db (short) and C (long)
keys. I belive the Richard (and Jimmy) are making "long slot Ds"
from C harps. This has more to do with the perceived longevity of
the reeds, as I understand it, than with the tone of the harp.
Paul again:
>> If I were going to play everything on one harp, then I would
>> choose either a "Bb" or "G" harp (because they both 'feel' better
>> than a "C" harp, the Bb lays out better for a lot of the tunes
>> you'll want to play etc) . . .
JRR again:
> I'm of the same mind. I find that high blow bends on C and above
> harps have a tone which I don't care for (I call it "glassy"--not
> an accurate description, just my own) and get into a range which I
> find too high for most playing--more of a specialty range.
> Conversely, even one whole-step lower such as Bb seems to me to
> give a more useful range over all three octaves, and lower harps
> like A or G are truly three-octave instruments in a way I've never
> found the higher harps to be. This starts to reverse itself below
> G, though, as the lowest octaves of lowF, lowE and lowD harps are
> a bit hard to control--unless you're Dennis Gruenling.
Not to be dismissive of these excellent points, but I would expect
that if one were *starting out* to play all keys on one instrument,
starting with an instrument that had a C major scale embedded in it
would be a nice feature. After all, everything is in a C major
scale, some just have sharps and flats ;-)
-tim
Tim Moyer
Working Man's Harps
http://www.workingmansharps.com/
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