Re: [Harp-L] Richter Shift Tuning



Thanks for the well-written history lesson, Winslow. And for the link to
Pat Missin's site.

I certainly feel more educated about "Richter tuning". The term is widely
used, and I had some definite misinformation about it.

Eric

On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 1:29 PM, Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> Nineteenth Century harmonica instruction books show harmonicas with the
> name Richter on the cover plates, but with a different tuning layout.
>
> For instance, the draw note in Hole 2 on a C harp, instead of being G, is
> often F. And the note layout in the top octave is also different.
>
> By the time so-called "Richter tuning" layout was standard in North
> America, the Richter name had vanished from the marketplace. And the
> now-standard note layout appears on some of the earliest tremolo harmonicas
> made by the Wilhem Thie company in Vienna starting sometime in the 1830s
> and in accordions having no association with the Richter name.
>
> So the association between Richter and standard diatonic tuning seems
> unsupported by any facts. Yet the myth persists, with absolutely no
> evidence, that a man named Joseph Richter, came up with the standard
> diatonic note layout. For more on the elusive and perhaps even mythical
> Josef Richter, check out the research done by Pat Missin:
> http://www.patmissin.com/ffaq/q37.html
>
> What does seem clear is the association - and that's all we can really
> call it - between the Richter name and the type of harmonica construction
> that puts all the blow reeds on one plate and all the draw reeds on another
> (unlike the older Wiener and Knittlinger constructions, both still in use,
> that put blow and draw reeds side by side on the same plate) and does note
> separate the holes into top and bottom halves (again, both Wiener and
> Knittlinger construction have this divider).
>
> A few years ago, some on this list tried to replace the term "Richter
> tuning" with "German standard tuning." I went along with it, but the fact
> is that once a term is established, it's very hard to change. All you can
> really do in practical terms is be careful in usage.
>
> Winslow
>
> Winslow Yerxa
> President, SPAH, the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the
> Harmonica
> Producer, the Spring 2014 Harmonica Collective
> Author, Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
>             Harmonica Basics For Dummies, ASIN B005KIYPFS
>             Blues Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-1-1182-5269-7
> Resident Expert, bluesharmonica.com
> Instructor, Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance
>
>
> ________________________________
>  From: Eric Nielsen <ericbarnak@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: Harp-L <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 4, 2014 8:40 AM
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Richter Shift Tuning
>
>
> I'm curious. Why is "Richter tuning" not a good name for this tuning?
>
> I am not suggesting that the popularity of the term "Richter tuning" makes
> it correct. I am sincerely interested in whatever enlightenment you and
> Winslow could impart on this. I--and I think others--would benefit from a
> brief exposition.
>
> Eric
>
> On Mon, Mar 3, 2014 at 7:47 PM, Greg Jones <greg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >wrote:
>
> > I totally agree and yes it makes sense.  I try to avoid the Richter term,
> > too.
> > Occasionally I use the phrase "tuned to the style commonly referred to as
> > Richter".
> >
> > I think a lot of the old trems and octaves were tuned this way as you
> > state.
> >
> > Anyhow, the advantage as I see it in this tuning is that it allows the
> > construction of
> > a harmonica or reed instrument within certain pitch ranges that might not
> > otherwise be
> > possible.  As in the example above, the commonly played holes and pattern
> > produce a pitch
> > one octave higher.
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Mar 3, 2014 at 6:34 PM, Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx
> > >wrote:
> >
> > > I call that an extended version of standard tuning (I avoid calling it
> > > Richter because Richter is a construction, not a tuning).
> > >
> > > First, think of a window that is 10 holes wide. All you can ever see
> > > through that window is 10 holes at a time.
> > >
> > > Of course we know of windows that are 12 and 14 holes wide.
> > >
> > > The usual 12-hole window (as in the Hohner #364) lets us see 2 more
> holes
> > > on the right, and those 2 extra holes extend the tuning on the high
> end.
> > >
> > > The 14-hole window comes in two versions:
> > >
> > > -- A window that shows us 4 extra holes on the high end (such as the
> > > Hohner 365)
> > >
> > > -- A window that shows us 3 extra holes on the low end and one on the
> > high
> > > end (the Hohner SBS)
> > >
> > > Now we have a total of 17 holes to play with. But if you have a window
> > > that's 10 holes wide, you can't see all 17 holes, so you have to locate
> > the
> > > 10 holes you want to see somewhere along that 17-hole continuum.
> > >
> > > Tremolo harps do this, and so do 10-key button accordions. They all
> > locate
> > > their 10 holes (sometimes more on tremolo harps) somewhere along that
> > > continuum. Often, they start on Hole 2 of the standard 10-howl tuning
> and
> > > extend to Hole 11 or 13.
> > >
> > > The one you're talking about has a window that starts on Hole -3 (i.e.
> > the
> > > third hole of SBS tuning) and extends to Hole 9.
> > >
> > > Does this make sense to you?
> > >
> > > Winslow
> > >
> > > Winslow Yerxa
> > > President, SPAH, the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of
> the
> > > Harmonica <http://spah.org/>
> > > Producer, the Spring 2014 Harmonica Collective<
> > http://harmonicacollective.com/>
> > > Author, Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5<
> >
> http://www.amazon.com/Harmonica-Dummies-Winslow-Yerxa/dp/047033729X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392924635&sr=1-1&keywords=harmonica+for+dummies
> > >
> > >             Harmonica Basics For Dummies, ASIN B005KIYPFS<
> >
> http://www.amazon.com/Dummies-HFDPK-Harmonica-Learners-Package/dp/B005KIYPFS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392924701&sr=1-1&keywords=harmonica+basics+for+dummies
> > >
> > >             Blues Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-1-1182-5269-7<
> >
> http://www.amazon.com/Blues-Harmonica-Dummies-Winslow-Yerxa/dp/1118252691/ref=pd_bxgy_MI_img_y
> > >
> > > Resident Expert, bluesharmonica.com
> > > Instructor, Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance<
> > http://jazzschool.com/>
>
> > >
> > >   ------------------------------
> > >  *From:* Greg Jones <greg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > *To:* Harp-L <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
> > > *Sent:* Monday, March 3, 2014 4:31 AM
> > > *Subject:* [Harp-L] Richter Shift Tuning
> > >
> > > I'm not sure what this tuning is called but it is sort of a modified or
> > > shortened version of SBS that I'll call Richter Shift.  In this case, I
> > > took a 10 hole Seydel 1847 and built in the key of (A) with the root
> > > starting on hole 2 blow. The hole #1 note is an E/G#.
> > >
> > > The advantage is it amounts to a HIGH A that is all stainless steel
> reed.
> > > Of course you have to get used to the notes being shifted over 1 hole,
> > but
> > > the other advantage is a full 3 octaves of 2nd position play.  It is
> nice
> > > to be able to get above the other instruments and I can see this
> working
> > > out well for (G) and (A) and possible more in a country/bluegrass
> > context.
> > > To get a HIGH A, it still required some 1/2 step re-tuning so it isn't
> > > possible on the CONFIGURATOR.
> > >
> > > Email me if this interests you.
> > >
> > > 1st take over a backing track on the playing and yes, I missed a few
> > > turnarounds and chord changes..
> > >
> > > https://soundcloud.com/greg-jones-9/seydel-1847-high-a-special
> > >
> > >
> > > *Greg Jones*
> > > *16:23 Custom Harmonicas*
> > > *(210) 445-6600*
> > > 1623customharmonicas.com
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> >  *Greg Jones*
> > *16:23 Custom Harmonicas*
> > *(210) 445-6600*
> > 1623customharmonicas.com
> >
>



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