Re: [Harp-L] Highlander tremolo harp

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

It's good for more than A mixolydian tunes. Second position will give
you E dorian tunes (The Warlock, Johnny Wilmot's Fiddle, Drowsy Maggie)
while third position will give you natural minor with a full B minor
chord (Sleepy Maggie, Elmer Briand's Favourite, Da Rain Dancin', can't
think of others right at the moment).

I notice that they left the D side of the harp alone. If they'd flatten
the Draw 3 and 7 on that side, too, then you could have E natural minor
in third position and A dorian in second. There is a huge number of A
dorian tunes at least in Scottish tradition. (And you could play blues
by playing the I chord in first position on the A side, then the IV
chord in first position onthe D side.)

Hmmm . . .

One thing about nails is that you can put them in places where screws
won't go. They're pesky for repairs but have that advantage for
assembly.

Winslow

--- Steve Shaw <moorcot@xxxxxxx> wrote:

> 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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