Re: [Harp-L] History of harp tuning

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Rick Dempster wrote:
<I play steel guitar too, Richard, in several tunings. The difference is
<that I can drop a six or eight string steel
<from A6th to E13th in about fifteen seconds, and return it likewise, almost
<always without breaking a string.
<To change tunings on a harp is time consuming or expensive, often both; and
<inconvenient in that my local music store doesn't keep anything more exotic than a
<Special 20 in Eb.

This is all true, of course, but it's a different issue than the utility of a non-standard tuning, or ease of learning.

My full recording kit includes about 85 harmonicas, many of which are diatonic (i.e. richter) variations in various keys.  (That's a pretty small setup compared to Tommy Morgan's, who told me once that he carried 75 POUNDS of harmonicas to every recording session--probably something close to 150  instruments, taking into account that he carried lots of chromatics, chord, and bass harmonicas in his kit.)  I keep telling myself that I need to cut back, but it seems like every other recording session demands an instrument that's been hiding in my case for years, waiting for the right moment to reveal itself as the only perfect solution to that session's requirements.

I repeat that the thing that makes it easy to pull those instruments from the case and use them without strain is that they are almost ALL simple variations on a Richter setup, and the scale tones--whether or not they're major or minor--are all in familiar places.  Of course it helps that I know my scales, too, but it shouldn't surprise anyone that it's easier to find the right notes when you know which ones go with particular modes and scales.

So granted that it takes time, money, and a little bit (really, not more than a little bit) of practice to make those alternate Richter tunings work for you.  To me it's worth it.

Like I said before (more or less), the point is to make the tools do the heavy lifting.  Those alternate tunings do a lot of heavy lifting for me.  Anyone who can get the job done with a different tool set is welcome to do so, and I look forward to hearing the results, even if I don't end up adopting the techniques or tools involved.  

Regards, Richard Hunter

author, "Jazz Harp" (Oak Publications, NYC)
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