Re: [Harp-L] The Coupled Diatonic Harmonica

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Neil Ashby wrote:
>Would anybody care to post their opinion of the "coupled diatonic harmonica" as advocated at " http://harmonicareinvented.com/ ";
>
>The short version of the "coupled diatonic harmonica" concept is that for any coupled set then the harps are one whole tone apart such as "Bb plus C" or "G plus A".
>
>Seems interesting enough to try sometime if the harps can be set at some comfortable angle.
>

Here's what I wrote this morning on this topic in a post to the harptalk list:
*****************************************************************************
This is an interesting technique.  I can see it being used with various key combinations, e.g. Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood" would work nicely with a Bb harp or a D natural minor (to play the sections in D minor/F) and a Db harp (to play the sections in Db).  

However, it wouldn't be my preferred approach to most material.  The video example is "Over the Rainbow."  This piece can be played very easily without overblowing using a single diatonic harp with a Country tuning (draw 5 reed raised 1/2 step) in 2nd position (cross harp), using bending to fill in the few notes that are otherwise unavailable.  Most players find it pretty easy to bend after a little practice.  In other words, if you only need one or two notes outside the built-in scale on a diatonic, there are easier ways to get them in most cases.  On the other hand, if a piece modulates from E to Ab, two harps might be an easy way to make it happen.  And it might be very useful when chording in multiple keys is desired; in fact, although there are a number of single-harp techniques for getting all 12 chromatic scale tones, there aren't many alternatives to using multiple diatonics for chording if the chord changes move around a lot.

Another issue: the size of the double harp stack would require a change in microphone technique, since very few people have hands big enough to hold a mic plus the two harps in a tight cup.  

Finally, with practice it's usually possible to use two harps without bolting them together.  On Norton Buffalo's classic "Runaway" solo, he uses 4 harps, one after the other, and he simply drops one to pick up the next.   

By the way, the two-diatonic approach has been widely used by Asian harmonica players for decades, although I haven't seen anyone bolt them together before this.  Cham-ber Huang used to demonstrate amazing virtuosity with two diatonics tuned 1/2 step apart.  
****************************************************************

I should note that I made a mistake in this post; "Over the Rainbow" works well on a Country tuned harp in 1st position, not 2nd, although you need to be careful about the exposed long bent note on the (sharped) draw 5 reed that's part of the melody.  I spent a little time today working on this melody in 2nd position on a Melody maker harp, and it lays out very nicely, with only one bend on the draw 2 reed needed, and that not a very exposed one.

In other words, a lot of the problems that this double-harp setup is supposed to solve can be solved very easily with altered tunings and traditional bending techniques.

Regards, Richard Hunter