I'm sorry, but I can't help being amused at the contortions that
are needed to play Summertime on a stock diatonic. As several
people have noted, an altered tuning makes it easier to play the
music. And before you get overwrought about the expressivenes
YOU bring to the song by playing in the 33rd position of the
Pixilated mode through your nose on a standard tuned harp, keep
in mind that (a) I am NOT a professional musician, and (b) I could
not care less about the different ways to get up the mountain. If
it floats your boat, go for it. Ark, ark, ark!
I haven't seen anyone mention the Seydel Circular Tuned harps.
That's what I play, and ALL the required notes are there with no
bending required. They are diatonics, and do have the capability
of expressiveness by slurring and sliding into the notes. But my
interest is in playing MUSIC for my own enjoyment with friends,
so I'm not all that concerned over how I can force notes out of
a harp that was NOT designed to produce those notes. I don't
have enough lifespan left to aspire to play more like Howard Levy
and the host of other amazing players on this list whose playing
on a standard tuned diatonic is nothing less than brilliant.
Yes, the Circular Tuned harps have a different blow/draw pattern
than standard Richter Tuned (if that's the right term) harps. So
what? If you can learn the breath reversal at hole 7, surely you
can learn a breath reversal at the octave. And the beautiful thing
is that ALL of the notes based on a particular major scale are there
for over two octaves, which means that ALL of the notes are there
for ALL modes based on that major scale. So, a song based on the
natural minor key (like Summertime) is a breeze to play. (But then,
that requires a knowledge of music theory to take advantage of it.)
Here's where it's going to get weird. Seydel names the harp key
based on the 5th of the underlying scale. The tonic of that major
scale is in hole 2 draw. For example, a harp labeled "G" is actually
based on the "C" major scale. (Another way to say it is that the
harps are labeled by the Mixolydian scale, but that seems to drive
the "we don't need no stinkin' music theory to play harp" types
around the bend.)
So, if the tune is going to be played in Am (the relative minor of
C major) AND the position is a relationship between the key of
the harp and the key of the song, then you would be playing in
3rd position on a Circular Tuned "G" harp, which would correspond
to 4th position on a "C" Richter Tuned harp.
ARRRGH!
Actually, I "cheat": I just think of each harp based on the underlying
major key, and use the same positions that everyone else uses.
That certainly makes it easier to communicate with others. And
since I am definitely in the minority, it seems appropriate to use
the majority terminology to avoid confusion.
It actually causes me no problems at all, because I made some
Circle of Fifths wheels about 3 years ago to help me learn positions
and modes and more music theory. Since I carry one of them in
my harp case wherever I go, I learned the information almost by
osmosis: every time I looked over to decide which harp to grab
(depending on the tune key and the harp key I wanted to use),
it somehow imprinted into my memory. I no longer even have to
refer to the wheel.
Just another alternative reality in a multi-harp universe,
Crazy Bob
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