Re: [Harp-L] Magic Harps

["Alfred Barten" <vr1139@xxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks for the interesting and informative post, Steve. I can well
understand the numbers you cite as reasons for Hohner to go slowly on
alternate tunings.

I'm pretty much of a newbie, so my experience here is limited. I have two
alternate tunings - a melody maker and a Paddy Richter. The Paddy is my
favorite by far since it expands my first position range while I develop my
ability to bend and gravitate to other positions. Similarly, I do not use
the MM since its emphasis is on 2nd  position, which is my future, not my
present.

I wonder how many of the 98% that don't use the alternate tunings fall into
the class of dabblers and how many are seriously learning or performing. The
dabbler, naturally, is going to buy the C diatonic as recommended by most if
not all instructionals and stick with it. It's basically the serious player
who thinks of getting harps in additional keys and then tunings. The thought
of having  a handful of harps in each of several different tunings can be
daunting.

-- Barts

On Mon, Oct 20, 2008 at 7:13 AM, Steve Baker <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> As mentioned in other postings, Magic Dick and Pierre Beauregard patented a
> range of alternate tunings for the 10-hole. These are aimed at rendering the
> instrument more suitable for melody and related chord playing in various
> different styles without the necessity of overblowing. Hohner made them a
> bunch of prototypes based on the Classic Marine Band in the late 90s and I
> possess three of these samples. Jerry Portnoy was testing them for Dick &
> Pierre and used them during his time with Eric Clapton to play numbers such
> as Layla.
>
> The ideas are great and without question allow you to play things which
> would be impossible on standard tuning. Unfortunately they possess the same
> potential advantages and disadvantages that characterize all alternate
> tunings (also for guitar). You need to learn your way around each one and
> draw a mental map to be able to use it in a musically meaningful fashion.
> How many guitarists can really cope with alternate tunings? My experience
> suggests maximum 10 - 20%. I once asked Lee Oskar what proportion of his
> production was alternate tunings (natural minor, melody maker, harmonic
> minor). He told me all together 2%. Most harp players I know can't deal with
> country (major 7th) tuning, even though it offers enormous advantages and
> only one note is different from standard tuning.
>
> Hohner need to make fairly large production runs to reduce the costs of
> retooling for each tuning and key. Dick and Pierre need to be able to offer
> the instruments at a competitive price. As there are a significant number of
> different tunings, all in different keys, you need to multiply each run by
> both those numbers to get the total number of instruments produced. The sums
> involved are considerable, so the whole thing has as yet not happened. These
> tunings are all patented and Dick and Pierre understandably want to market
> them exclusively, so it seems to be questionable whether both the economics
> and the protection of intellectual property can be reconciled,
>
> Steve
>
> Steve Baker
> steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> www.stevebaker.de
> www.bluesculture.com
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>
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-- 
Alfred Barten