[Harp-L] intonation and key

["Jonathan R. Ross" <jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Every instrument has intonation issues.  For some, such as the piano,
the main issue is structural and can't be controlled by the player, and
thus tends to be thought about primarily as an issue of temperament and
such.  For others, such as the slide trombone or talking drum the main
issue is the ability to isolate pitches accurately, thus talks about the
technique of the individual.

For the diatonic harmonica both issues come into play.  But, while the
former is easily thought of in structural terms and dealt with
effectively before you pick up the harmonica, the later is usually
thought of in technical terms and thus comes into play when you play, as
it were.

I think that one of the things which is getting overlooked in this
debate is that the structural issue can actually be used to help deal
with the technical problems.  Perhaps one of the least talked about and
yet most salient issues in playing the diatonic harmonica is choice of
key of the harp as it relates to the key of the song and the intricacies
of the particular song in question.  Learning to instinctively match the
key of the harmonica for the song in question takes as much practice as
any other aspect of the instrument.  You have to be able to instantly
evaluate the notes of the song versus the layout of the harmonica and
determine what key and position will best fit.  Do you want a major and
essential note to fall on a natural or a bend/overbend?  How important
is the intonation of that note--can you slide up or down to it, can you
miss it by a bit and still make it work?  

I think one of the reasons that this aspect of diatonic harmonica
playing (and to a lesser extent chromatic playing) gets ignored is that
few other instruments have issues analogous to this.  Saxophones come in
specific keys covering specific ranges and most players focus on one of
these, and even those who play multiple types choose the type primarily
for range and tone rather than for the accessibility of notes vis-à-vis
intonation (and chords are a non-issue).  I can think of a few other
instruments with this type of dilemma, penny whistles and jaw's
harps/guimbardes come to mind, but it isn't something commonly
encountered in typical music pedagogy and rarely talked about in
harmonica pedagogy.  Part of the reason for the later may be that most
harmonica players start from the blues tradition and then expand from
there.  The question of key is relatively avoided because you mostly
play in 2nd position, and occasionally in first and third, all of which
lend themselves well to basic blues changes and most blues songs.  But
if you are trying to stretch out to songs with more complex structures
and melodies, these questions become much, much more important.  But,
I've rarely heard those trying to play diatonic in such venues talk
about the process they go through of selecting key and position as it
relates to the key and changes of the song in question.  Perhaps because
it is primarily a self-taught aspect it is something that few people
consider as being important enough to mention; it's just something you
do.  I think the opposite is true: that it is of vital importance and an
issue which this thread might give us an opportunity to illuminate.

As to the question of intonation and what is acceptable, well, I'm
rather harsh in my critique because I have ears rather attuned to hear
slight variations in tuning between references.  But, I tend to think it
comes down to the question of how does one limit potential intonation
issues as much as is possible so as to best avoid the possibility of
such problems getting in the way of making a musical statement.  

As an aside, the Theremin has been mentioned, and I think it's worth
noting that Theremin himself tackled this issue with regards to his
invention.  His method was to create a physical interface for his
instrument rather than merely a gestural one, and he modeled this
interface on the cello, which has a long tradition of techniques to deal
with the issue of intonation.  Similarly, the great Raymond Scott soon
realized that for accomplishing his music he needed a more precise
instrument than Theremin, and so created one of the first all-electronic
keyboard instruments.  As harmonica players we don't necessarily have to
reinvent the wheel as radically as these two examples, but perhaps more
focus on the issues of key, position and even tuning scheme (the oddly
dreaded alternate tuning) as it relates to what the desired music style
and particular songs is needed.  Or at least a more open and frank
discussion of these issues.

Finally, I think some people get defensive rather quickly when issues of
intonation and such are brought up.  I would suggest that we look inward
and recognize that as harmonica players (all types, indeed, all winds
have this problem) that we are all quite susceptible to poor intonation
and that anyone on this forum brings the issue up not to harm but rather
in honest criticism so that we as a group may discuss, asses and
hopefully learn what issues there are and what possible solutions may be
available.

Oh, one last and actually final note.  Jason Ricci said:

>A chromatic can't really do that (bend a whole step)

Yes, it can.  I just checked and I can bend nearly the entire draw range
of a 64 a whole step cleanly, some notes more.  My blow bending is
primarily a half-step with some notes more than that (technique,
undoubtedly, as I'm much more used to draw bending in those pitch ranges
than blow bending, a hold-over from diatonic).  There are people able to
bend farther than I on a chromatic as well.  I am sure that were I to
dedicate and practice my chromatic bending I could hit the half-step
draw bend as well and with as much control as on a diatonic in holes two
and three.  I am not an exceptional player, and so would guess that most
anyone can achieve at least these results, probably more.

Further:

>My cat just walked across the piano and it was perfectly in tune. Was
>it art? Is she a better player than professor Long Hair"[?] [D]oes it
matter?"

Perhaps, perhaps and no in that order.  To the first, the only
definition of music which I have been able to rely upon is "music is
that which you define as such", so to some the cat on the piano would be
music, to others it would not.  The second question needs perspective.
Perhaps she is a better cat-piano player than Longhair is a human piano
player.  I'd have to hear a lot of cats to say, and the answer would
probably depend on whether the audience was feline or human.  As for the
third question, absolutely not.  Of course, non of that really has
anything to do with the topic at hand, because we are essentially
talking human musicians playing a very defined style: Jazz.  Jazz
standards at that.  Warhorses even.  In the broader context it is a
discussion of Western music in general, and if we are going beyond that
then there is an entirely different discussion we could have about what
intonation and pitch mean to different musical formats, styles and
traditions.  But that's not what this discussion has been about.




 oo    JR "Bulldogge" Ross
()()   & Snuffy, too:)
`--'