Re: [Harp-L] Ghost Notes and Equal Temperament

Phil,

A tongue split interval ("split interval") is any interval that is a double stop played by putting your tongue on the harp and blowing/ drawing non adjacent holes on either side of the tongue, with the tongue blocking the notes in between. You are playing 2 non adjacent notes/holes simultaneously which are "split" by the notes/holes in between them that are being blocked by the tongue. Octaves or octave stops are one type of split interval.

On a Richter tuned diatonic harmonica in any key, playing clean split interval double stops will generate difference tones (what i and some others have been calling "ghost notes"). These are notes that are heard, but are not actually being played. This phenomenon is most powerful and noticeable playing octave stops, but can be produced by playing ANY split interval double stop on ANY Richter tuned diatonic harp in ANY key. Of course, some sound better and more interesting than others, so you have to fool around with it to see which sound good on what material.

I happen to think that the most limiting aspect of playing a diatonic harmonica is not the lack of a full 12 tone scale, but, rather the inability to build chords. The primitive chords available on the instrument do not fit with a very wide variety of material. But i have found that the chords generated by the combination of notes played as split intervals and the ghost notes that particular split interval will produce almost always fit better on a wider variety of material than the chords actually available on the harmonica. I'm not real technical about it, and most of the time i don't know precisely what i am doing. But, i've been doing it for a long time and it works. For the last 4 or 5 years I have been doing it on almost every tune each time i perform as a matter of routine.

Sounds best through a PA style mic with a wide frequency response (like a 545, SM 57 or 58, Audix Fireball, EV re 10 or 15, etc.) Doesn't always sound good through a bullet mic.

i hope this is understandable.

JP

On Jan 26, 2009, at 12:06 PM, Philharpn@xxxxxxx wrote:

Just what are "split intervals"?

Are you talking about octaves? 7th? Thirds? (1-4, 1-3, 2-5) Does this ghost note phenomenon work on all harps or just specific keys? Specific notes regardless of harps?

Phil


In a message dated 1/26/09 2:29:39 AM, hvyj@xxxxxxx writes:


A few days ago, Jazmaan and i had the folowing exchange:


Jazmaan wrote:
Just wanted to add my two cents to the discussion of ghost notes that
was going on a couple days ago:   In a nutshell - use a Just
Intonation harp if you want to exploit ghost notes in your playing.
Otherwise they just sound like grit.   I think a lot of people who
have never played a Just Intonation harp have come to accept the
grittiness - maybe even to like it - thinking that it's a byproduct
of their amp's distortion.   They have no idea that same gritty
distortion can quickly become harmonious and powerful - even a little
mysterious and awesome - just by changing to a Just Intonation harp.


I replied:
In my experience, ghosts notes sound just fine on ET harps.  JI
sounds out of tune if you are playing in anything but first or second
position.  I recognize that some very accomplished players are
adamant that ghosts notes sound dissonant on ET, but as far as i am
concerned  that claim is just intonated nonsense.


Actually, as i think about it, i should qualify my reply by saying
that the difference tones/ghost notes produced by playing SPLIT
INTERVALS on an ET harp sound good..  Jazmaan may well be correct
about ghost notes produced by intervals other than split intervals.
i don't know about those.  My focus has been solely on ghost notes
generated by split intervals .  Those do not sound gritty or
dissonant. Actually, they sound sweeter than the chords do on an ET
harp.

JP



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