Re: [Harp-L] harmonica in B

[joe leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hmmm, lets' see. Playing a harmonica tuned to ONE key (and not C),  
but playing it in ANOTHER key, and winding up in a THIRD key. Why  
does this sound familiar? Yes, a look into the archives will produce  
MY chromatic transposition chart. Another of my many wonderful  
harmonica related inventions/discoveries.

Seriously though, Robert 'Le Bon Vivant' knows what he's doing,  
that's for sure. The Db and Dm positions on a B harmonica do open up  
some interesting possibilities. In fact, cross keyed playing (on  
chromo) can be VERY involved...and interesting. It's a lot of fun and  
takes you far deeper than playing everything on a C chromo.  
Combinations appear that weren't there before. I see it as a logical  
extention for those who like to play both diatonic & chromo.

smokey-joe



On Dec 1, 2009, at 5:23 PM, michael rubin wrote:

> At SPAH last year, after 24 years of playing on a C chromatic I bought
> a B.  It has definitely come in handy, not only for the ease of
> positions but also for button related tonal effects that I could not
> get in certain keys, now I can.
> Michael Rubin
> Michaelrubinharmonica.com
>
> On 12/1/09, Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > I do this for fiddle tunes in keys like D (plays like Eb), A  
> > (plays like Bb) G (plays like Ab) and even A (plays like F).
> >
> > Irish accordionists figured this out decades ago. They play a push- 
> > pull button accordion with one row of buttons tuned to B major and  
> > the other to C major. So they have a lot of smooth same-direction  
> > note sequences in the common keys of D, A, and G. But more  
> > recently players like Jackie Daly have gone to a C#-D box, because  
> > they LIKE the punchy sound they get when changing bellows direction.
> >
> > If anyone thinks this is cheating, look up the history of some of  
> > the instruments in the orchestra. Clarinets used to come standard  
> > not only in  Bb but in A as well, so that fingering would not be  
> > impossible in sharp keys. And trumpets and French horns used to be  
> > diatonic - you changed the key by inserting a crook - a length of  
> > curly tubing - between the mouthpiece and the body of the horn.  
> > Imagine having to change keys that way in the middle of a  
> > performance.
> >
> > Winslow
> >
> > Winslow Yerxa
> >
> > Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
> >
> > --- On Tue, 12/1/09, Robert Bonfiglio <bon@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > From: Robert Bonfiglio <bon@xxxxxxxxxx>
> > Subject: [Harp-L] harmonica in B
> > To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> > Date: Tuesday, December 1, 2009, 11:12 AM
> >
> > I have always had a couple of sets of plates that I tuned down a  
> > half step to B with silver solder on the end of each reed.  Royal  
> > pain!!!!!
> >
> > This allows me to play in Flat keys in order to take advantage of  
> > the blow F and Draw C and therefore I can play most all trills and  
> > turns.  I use this for the Bach B Minor Suite and the B Minor  
> > Flute Sonata plaing them both in C Minor with a B harmonica so  
> > they sound in B Minor.  The Thais Meditation I perform in Eb with  
> > a B harmonica thus keeping the orchestra in D Major.  Better than  
> > transposing all the string parts at any rate.
> >
> > harmonically yours,
> >
> > Robert Bonfiglio
> > http://www.robertbonfiglio.com
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> >
> >
> >
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