RE: [Harp-L] intonation and bending/overblow notes , iceman's summertime

["Dennis Fischette" <dmfischette@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

This is why this place is called America, you are free to do as you please. 
Hey, if you don't care for it, don't listen. It just means you don't care 
for it. It doesn't mean it isn't good!
Dennis ( Ramcat) Fischette

> From: To: Subject: [Harp-L] intonation and bending/overblow notes , 
> iceman's summertime Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 09:17:17 -0700
>
> iceman sayeth,
>
> "To answer the question and suggestions of using a minor tuned harmonica to 
> play this song, I choose not to use any special tuned harmonicas in order 
> to realize my vision of moving all notes created on the regular diatonic 
> harmonica into equality.
>
> The very fact that so many of you couldn't tell that "Summertime" was 
> played in 2nd position lets me know that my notes created through bending 
> techniques (including OB) are becoming seamless. "
>
> -----------------------------
>
> out of tune notes are not  "seamless", they stick out instantly to the 
> listener as "off" and sound generally unpleasant
>
>
> notes played are either in tune or out of tune....intonation.....if that 
> song "summertime" had been played on a chromatic or a piano all the notes 
> would have been in tune.....fact is there were quite a few if not many 
> notes there that were simply out of tune...stick out like a sore thumb 
> every time .   just because the notes are played on a diatonic harmonica 
> does not mean we can blithely ignore the fact that out of tune notes sound 
> bad.   hitting bent or overbend/overblow notes spot on to pitch every 
> single time in a live performance is really hard if not impossible. hitting 
> every note in tune every single time on a piano or a chromatic is virtually 
> guaranteed.  i've heard howard play live for hours and have never heard 
> more out of tune notes played live by a professional musician in my entire 
> life.  quite embarrassing to witness really.
>
> maybe it's the polite thing to do to ignore out of tune notes played over 
> and over again on a diatonic harmonica but then again there is a place for 
> something called intellectual honesty , especially in this forum.
>
> this needs to be said by someone other that just richard.   i make these 
> obvious points not to create rancor or to detract from a player's talent , 
> since howard for instance is , in a general although oddly contradictory 
> sense, clearly far and away the most talented musician to ever play the 
> diatonic harmonica ( regardless of the fact that i would rather listen to 
> william clarke or a few dozen other harp players).
>
> of course , playing a blues harp in " amplified chicago-style " or 
> "amplified rock harp"  as many of "our heroes"  do/did , is a style much 
> less susceptible to this intonation problem . one reason being that notes 
> are not so dependant on being hit spot on where bending is often slurred 
> through in the blues/rock style.
>
> can you say, "the emperor's new clothes" ?   i knew you could.   this whole 
> phenomenon of harp people ignoring all the out of tune notes is the most 
> amazing case of the "emperor's new clothes"  in real life.       where the 
> heck is the little boy who says, " gee, that dude can really play the hell 
> out that harmonica, but what's up with all the out of tune notes that 
> nobody is calling b.s. on?   seems to me if a violin teacher heard her 
> prodigy violin student play every fifth note off-pitch he/she would 
> INSTANTLY call b.s. on that.
>
> maybe i don't get it , but i can tell when a note is badly off pitch in a 
> song .    and i am a big fan of harmonica music.
>
> cletus
>
>
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