[Harp-L] Ashoken Farewell

["eskeene@xxxxxxxx" <eskeene@xxxxxxxx>]

"That C nat is a pain. If I have to play the melody I use a D chrom."   Yeah it is. I play lots of Scots and Irish stuff using a D chromatic as my base-by being able to switch from C# to C natural you can play most Irish tunes in their fiddle keys (I personally think most Irish tunes started as whistle/flute/or pipe tunes-hence the keys and modes they use). Ashoken Farewell, being written on the fiddle uses both the flatted and the sharp seventh which is what really gives you trouble on a non-chromatic. A lot of Scots fiddle tunes do that too. The Highland pipes actually play their own scale which is a bit different that the Western scale and doesn't use either just or even temperment.  "If someone else (the fiddle player) is playing the melody then there are infinite harmonising possibilities on 
a D blues harp. Personally I find the melody to be a bit threadbare, requiring lots of 
lushness in the harmony to make it work well. " As a bar band veteran, I see your point. On the other hand, there can be beauty in spareness too. I think of the Ashoken Farewell less as a waltz than as an air, and a lot of the old airs pre-date harmonised accompaniment. I like the sound of the diatonic  (Seydel Melody Maker) for (Southern) American fiddle tunes although it would be really great to have a "diatonic" with BOTH the flatted and sharped sevenths available without having to bend. It wouldn't be much for vamping though:) cheers, emily 
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