Re: [Harp-L] re: Fourkey (and other altered tunings)

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

If the Fourkey is a diatonic, what key is it on?

Winslow

Winslow Yerxa
Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5


--- On Tue, 10/21/08, Jonathan Ross <jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> From: Jonathan Ross <jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [Harp-L] re: Fourkey (and other altered tunings)
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 9:02 AM
> Jazzmaan writes:
> 
> "(3) A question:  What is a "Diatonic" harp?
>  Is the Fourkey a  
> diatonic harp? "
> 
> Yes.  It would need at least twelve notes per octave to be
> considered  
> chromatic (this has been done on a Richter-harp, or at
> least on the  
> similar to Richter in usage All-American Bakelite).  The
> Fourkey  
> tuning has more notes available than most other tunings
> (German Major  
> Diatonic, Melody Maker, Natural Minor, etc...) but that
> does not make  
> it a chromatic instrument.
> 
> " I think that term doesn't do justice to the
> Fourkey.  Sure it can  
> play diatonic scales.  But it can also play a complete
> chromatic  
> scale without resort to overdraws or overblows and just two
> ordinary  
> draw bends in a 12 note chromatic scale."
> 
> Bends have essentially the same issues in terms of
> differences in  
> timbre, articulation and pitch control as overblows/draws. 
> You may  
> only have two bends as accidentals and the other notes as
> naturals  
> available in the Fourkey, but that doesn't mean those
> two notes are  
> any less problematic than they would be in any other
> tuning.  You  
> would still have to choose key, position and the like in
> order to  
> avoid or exploit that difference as with most other
> diatonic tunings.
> 
> "   I'm searching for the appropriate term to
> include all "short  
> harps" including Richter and all other alternate
> tunings.   I'm  
> thinking "10/20 harp" is a better descriptor.  10
> holes/20 reeds.   
> Any other ideas?"
> 
> Richter is the appropriate term for the instrument, IMO,
> but not the  
> tuning, thus my suggestion of German Major Diatonic (GMD). 
> Richter  
> was originally used to denote the construction of the
> instrument and  
> not the tuning (notably, most diatonic harmonica types have
> used this  
> same tuning layout, whether Richter, Wiener, Knittlinger or
> other).   
> Richter has transformed itself into being a catch-all for
> the tuning  
> as well, which ends up leading to oxymorons, a Richter
> tremolo for  
> instance.
> 
> "(4) What does it take to convince some of you harp-l
> people to give  
> the Fourkey a try?"
> 
> Most people here won't even try natural Minor or
> Country tuned.  And  
> those take essentially no relearning.  So the odds that
> they want to  
> try something as truly different as Fourkey would seem very
> slim indeed.
> 
> 
> 
> 
>   ()()    JR "Bulldogge" Ross
> ()  ()
> `----'
> 
> 
> 
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