Re: [Harp-L] Re: Alfred Hirsch

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

--- "jazmaan@xxxxxxxxxxx" <dmf273@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I listened to the Alfred Hirsch tracks on Myspace.   They sound
> pretty good, but I would like to
> hear him play a standard or something with a known melody.  It's hard
> to assess his diatonic
> diminished harp when all he's playing are originals.   Maybe I should
> search harder, but that
> Myspace player only had 4 originals.   Also I didn't hear any chordal
> play - seemed like it was
> all single note playing.

He has some additional tracks on his own website.

Chordal playing on dimi tuning (or any symmetrical tuning) requires
particular care, as the thing that makes dimi easier for melodic
playing in all 12 keys (i.e., only three positions to learn) makes it
harder for chordal playing. 

You can't just start playing chordally on a dimi by adding side notes
to your melodic playing, for two reasons. One is that so many of your
notes will be bent (at least on the diatonic version of dimi). The
other is that it will sound extremely weird, as the chords deliberately
do not fall in any key - they are a symmetrical arrangement of
intervals that essentially ignores and cuts across key structures. So
you you have to pick and choose the minor 3rds (or major 6ths, just the
same notes stacked differently, as Eb over C vs. C over Eb), and the
less-frequent tritones that happen to fit the chords of the tune you're
playing. This approach requires a strong focus on doing just that then
on integrating it into melodic playing in a way that makes sense.

Not to say that it can't be done or even that it's impractical. In
fact, it's an integral part of a well-rounded approach to playing in
any tuning. But it ain't easy, and it doesn't fall into place naturally
the way it does on a standard diatonic.

Winslow


 
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