JR,
Thanks for the detailed explanation. Clearly, i have been operating
under some flawed assumptions. I'm self taught, but i've been
playing for quite a while. Over the years, I have had the good
fortune to regularly play with a number of really good musicians,
some of whom have extensive formal education that did not stop at
the wrist (as they say). From these guys i picked up some basic
working knowledge of theory, so i understand what you are telling me.
Anyway, a little over a year ago i began playing ET harps (Suzuki
Hammonds). i quickly came to the conclusion that I sound better on
ET. More significantly, the musicians i play with thought i sounded
better, too (although they all may not have known about the
instrument change).. Except for the split interval thing, i am
basically a single note player and i regularly use multiple
positions. Not only do i think i play better on ET, I definitely
can hear pitches better. I sound so much more in tune with the rest
of the band when i play now than i did before i began to play ET
harps.
Whether or not they are supposed to sound good played on an ET
harp, the split intervals work extremely well for me and blend well
with other instruments on a wider variety of material than the
chords on the instrument do. The musicians i play with like it, and
no one ever complains that i sound dissonant or off key (complaints
about my occasional less than optimum note selection don't count).
And the ghost notes actually do generate an objectively BIGGER,
FULLER, sound. Especially when amplified. I'm not making this up.
Now, in light of what you have just explained to me, I've become a
little little perplexed about WHY the ET harps work so well for me
and WHY the split intervals i regularly play sound good on my ET
harps. But, I'm not going to obsess over it, and since it ain't
broke, I'm not going to try to fix it. But i do really appreciate
your taking the time to answer my questions.
Best regards,
JP
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