Re: [Harp-L] XB-40

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Rick Dempster wrote:
<But through all this, we never, as a community waiver from the Richter style, Richter note <placement harmonica 

If we include variations on Richter like natural minor, country tuning, etc., all of which put particular scale tones in the same places, I agree.  

It's not easy to learn a new tuning, especially one that puts the scale tones in different places. Imagine that every time you drove a car, you had to figure out which pedal was the gas and which the brake.  Lots of accidents in that scenario.  A radically modified (from Richter) tuning is no different.  Muscle memory tells you one thing, the sound from the harp tells you another.  It takes time to embed the new model in muscle memory--to develop the habit of playing the instrument in a new way.

New tunings like the Powerbender offer lots of new possibilities, and will certainly be used by some players. Whether such tunings develop the critical mass necessary to sustain the product is another question.  We'll find out.

Thanks, Rcihard hunter

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