Re: [Harp-L] Donald Black, Highlander extraordinaire

["Steve Shaw" <moorcot@xxxxxxx>]

Winslow wrote:

> Donald has wanted for a long time to have a tremolo harp that would
> allow him to play a mixolydian scale (major but with the 7th note in
> the scale lowered) in first position, to match the highland bagpipe
> scale. It would be like taking a diatonic harp and lowering Draw 3 and
> Draw 7 by one semitone.
>
> You could get the same scale by playing a D-harp in second position. So
> why bother to retune an A harp?

I wondered exactly the same thing myself when I saw the clip.  Donald is, 
though, professedly a first-position player.  But what he ends up with is a 
Mixolydian first-position harp that would have fairly restricted use for 
much else.  I play those Echo tremolos myself but only for about 15% of the 
time or less in our sessions.  So at the price they are I don't really want 
ones that are too "specialised."  I do "Paddy Richter" mine though.   The 
other thing I wondered, almost certainly with vain hope, was whether Hohner 
have come out of the 19th century with their Echo Highlander and got rid of 
all those pesky nails.  I'm fully expecting a diplomatic answer from 
Fernando.  ;-)

http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/trad_irish_harmonica
HEAR my CD clips: http://www.gjk2.com/steveshaw/cd.htm

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