[Harp-L] Diatonic/chromatic

["jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx" <jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jerome writes:

"I confirm that it is possible to play Charlie Parker smoothly on a diatonic harp, with no doubt."

It is?  Well, I guess it depends on the song in question, but if we're talking "Giant Steps" I remain massively unconvinced.  And yes, I have heard all the examples everyone will mention.  Not that you can't play jazz on a diatonic, just that the musical success or failure of that attempt will depend on a lot of factors, not the least of which is the song in question.  Simply put, it's a hell of a lot easier to play highly chromatic music successfully on an instrument designed to do so than on an instrument specifically _not_ designed to do so.  The later tends to be much more a hit or miss affair, the hits usually coming when the player is more sympathetic to and aware of their instruments strengths and limitations.

Jerome again:

"So I would conclude: let's give people the freedom to choose their instrument and let them work fairly, to give the best they can on their instrument."

A wonderful argument against a straw man no one brought up.  Of course, everyone is free to do whatever they want.  But that goes both ways, in that if the results are less than stellar, well then that's worth noting.  We are some twenty odd years into the chromatic-diatonic experiment.  There have been stunning successes and spectacular failures, but what there hasn't been yet, to my ears, is anyone who could successfully pass the Ode Challenge.  That isn't just some annoying bit of pedantry, I'd say it's a significant reason to be very aware of the limitations of the exercise.

Perhaps it's just me, perhaps it's just that I've become jaded, but I find that with time the squeaks, squawks and just plain misses of many diatonic-chromatic attempts are even more noticeable.  I guess I find that the bloom and honeymoon of "wow, I didn't know you could do that" is gone and been replaced by a preference for musicality over technicality.



JR Ross