---- Original Message ----
From: jaguire@xxxxxxxxxxx
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [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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