Somebody on the list once said that most harmonica players really
didn't
need a 10-hole harmonica because most of them never played anything
above the 6th
hole anyway. Well, somebody at Seydel must have heard this remark
and taken
it to heart --urr harp.
The key of C Big Six is designed to be played in second position in
the key
of G and the notes provide a complete mixolydian mode (play G to G
on the white
keys of the piano).
The other issue, about the ubiquitous key of C -- It's everywhere,
it's
everywhere, it's everywhere.
I thought this was explained by one (or more) of the more
knowledgeable
sources on Harp-L, perhaps even someone connected to the harmonica
industry as to
why C is the most common key.
It's register fits in the middle of the range of harps -- not too
high and
not too low. (Cf. Middle C on the piano, too?!)
For draw bends, this means that the bends are not as "deep" (and a
difficult
to manage) as the lower pitched harmonicas.
Perhaps there is another reason C is so common. Anyone who knows
the least
bit about music knows that C is the only major key that has no
flats or sharps
-- which only serve to confuse people trying to figure out music
anyway.
This is a favorite piano key for that reason. All you have to do is
just play
the white keys, ignore the black keys and you're in the key of C (A
minor is
another bunch of broccoli and will be discussed in another post).
Before the advent of the recent Low tune harps, harmonicas were
tuned, low to
high:
G, A, Bb, C, D,E,F,G
or if you prefer all 12
G, Ab, A.Bb, B -- C -- Db, D, Eb, E, F, F#
(so you can see C is almost in the middle)
There might be another reason why C is the most common key. Maybe
it sells
the best, even in harp lines that offer 7 keys or even 12 keys
(without the
extra Low and High tuned harps).
The only complaint I ever heard about the C harps is that they are
difficult
-- some say virtually impossible -- to blow bend on the top end.
That is my
newbies are urged to try A or G harps when first working on
executing blow
bends.
Now I suspect that if Seydel sells a few thousand Big Sixes in the
key of C,
the firm may offer other keys. Or maybe take custom orders, as it
does for
some of its other lines.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and all the holidays in-between. Or
Seasons Greetings.
Phil Lloyd
In a message dated 12/18/07 9:08:40 AM, lavoie@xxxxxxxxx writes:
FJM,
You are so right. The C is such a high octave key, that is harder
to bend,
because the reeds are shorter than a Bb,A,Ab,G. I always carry my
G for
daily playing. If you can bend notes on an A, and G harmonica, the
odds are
in your favor to master bends on most keys.
I would definitely would buy a Big Six if it came out in the key
of G. I
love the sound of the Mouth Organ in this key.
Stay tuned!
Mark LaVoie
-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx]On
Behalf Of fjm
Sent: Monday, December 17, 2007 10:05 PM
To: h-l
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Seydel Big Six is in
Key of C. Why is it that all commemoratives novelty and odd
harmonicas
are in C? Sure F# would be worse but Bb An or G would be a whole
lot
more useful. I was all ready to buy the Big Six until I saw the
big C
on the key signature. fjm
_
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