[Harp-L] SOPHISTICATED LADY on a Midi Harmonica and NEW Chord harp tuning!

[Michael Rubin]

Thanks John!

On Mon, Oct 9, 2017 at 9:59 PM, Shirley, John <John_Shirley at xxxxx> wrote:

> That's an amazing chord layout for the DM48, Michael!!!
>
> There are hundreds of chords available here, in a single tuning!
>
> Thank you for sharing this with the harmonica community. It is incredibly
> well thought out and will give players a lot to work with for sure!
>
> - John
>
> Dr. John Shirley, Professor
> Department of Music
> The University of Massachusetts Lowell
>
>
> On Oct 9, 2017, at 9:53 PM, Michael Rubin <michaelrubinharmonica at xxxxx>
> wrote:
>
> I hope you enjoy my video of me playing all three parts of Sophisticated
> lady on the Lekholm DM48 Midi chromatic harmonica.
>
> What is the most exciting part to me is I have developed a new tuning
> system that enables me to play nearly any chord.
>
> The blow notes are above the numbers and the draw notes are below.
>
> C   E   G   B   D   F   A   C#   E   G   Bb   Eb
> 1   2    3    4   5   6    7    8     9    10  11   12
> G   B   D   F# A   C   E   G#  W    I     L     D
>
> Notice the draw notes in holes 8 through 12 are undefined, leaving the
> option of typing in whatever chord I want.  I call it the WILD chord.
>
> The DM48 has three buttons that alter the pitch of the note to another
> note.
>
> Unlike the acoustic chromatic, the button on the right hand side of the
> instrument does not have to raise the pitch one half step aka one keyboard
> note.  I could raise it higher eight half steps or lower it three.
>
> The same goes for the other two buttons.
>
> Let's call the button on the right of the instrument button one.  Let's
> call the button on the top left button two and the top right button three.
>
> Button one has an extra special feature.  It enables you to type in the
> note that the built in note gets altered to.  This means I could make hole
> 1 blow go up 1 half step, 2 blow up one whole step, three blow down 5 etc.
> This can come in handy if there are multiple chords in the song that are
> not present in the basic tuning.  As you will see, I rarely have use for
> this feature as the large amount of built in chords almost always
> accommodate the needs of a song.
>
> I have chosen button one to raise the pitch one half step, button two
> raises the pitch one whole step aka two keyboard notes and button three
> raises the pitch two whole steps, aka four keyboard notes.
>
> One, Two, FOUR?
>
> Why not one, two, three?
>
> Button one raises one note.  Button two raises two notes.  If I push both
> buttons in at the SAME TIME I get the sum of the parts and it raises three
> half steps.
>
> Therefore:
>
> No button raises the built in note zero half steps
> Button one raises one half step
> Button two raises two
> Buttons one plus two raises three
> Button three raises four
> Buttons one plus three raises five
> Buttons two plus three raises six
> Buttons one plus two plus three raises seven
>
> This can also be thought of as
>
> No button plays the root of the built in note
> Button one plays the flat second
> Button two plays the second
> Buttons one plus two plays the flat third
> Button three plays the third
> Buttons one plus three plays the fourth
> Buttons two plus three plays the flat fifth
> Buttons one plus two plus three plays the fifth
>
> This can also be thought of as
>
> No button plays the root of the built in note
> Button one raises it a minor second
> Button two raises it a major second
> Buttons one plus two raises it a minor third
> Button three raises it a major third
> Buttons one plus three raises it a perfect fourth
> Buttons two plus three raises it a tritone
> Buttons one plus two plus three raises it a perfect fifth.
>
> Therefore each breath direction produces 8 notes per hole.  Here is the
> layout of hole one:
>
> One blow  C
> One blow button one C#/Db
> One blow button two D
> One blow buttons one plus two D#/Eb
> One blow button three E
> One blow buttons one plus three F
> One blow buttons two plus three F#/Gb
> One blow buttons one plus two plus three G
> One draw G
> One draw button one G#/Ab
> One draw button two A
> One draw buttons one plus two A#/Bb
> One draw button three B
> One draw buttons one plus three C one octave up from 1 blow no button
> One draw buttons two plus three C#/Db one octave up
> One draw buttons one plus two plus three D one octave up
>
> Therefore in holes one through eight, you can easily play a fully
> chromatic scale and then some.
>
> This enables you to play the chord types in all twelve keys.
>
> For example one, two, three blow are the notes C E G, respectively.  Those
> notes are a C major chord.
>
> Therefore holes one through three are the locations of all twelve major
> chords.
>
> Now you may say "Since one blow with buttons one, two and three pressed is
> G, shouldn't one draw with no buttons be G#/Ab?  Why did you make one draw
> with no button G?"
>
> That would have been a good idea and enabled a higher Eb note.
>
> However many people are familiar with the Circle of Fifths.  Since G is
> the fifth note in the C Major scale, 1 draw is a fifth higher than 1 blow.
> This is easier to remember and still provides all twelve keys of a chord.
>
> Therefore, every draw note is a fifth higher than its respective blow
> note, with the possible exception of the WILD chord.  Therefore, if you can
> just memorize the blow notes and you have memorized the Circle of Fifths
> you have also memorized the draw notes.
>
> So how do you locate a chord?
>
> Let's say you want to play a D major chord.  You know that the major
> chords are in holes one through three.  You know that the root of the major
> chord is in hole one.
>
> Your first move is to determine if it is a blow chord or a draw chord.
>
> Find the draw note in the hole.  In this case, G.  Lower that note by one
> keyboard note.  G goes lower and becomes F# or Gb.
>
> Ask yourself if the root of the chord you are searching for is between C
> and F#/Gb.  If it is, the chord you are searching for is a blow chord.
>
> If it is not, the chord you are searching for is a draw chord.
>
> For this example, D is in between C and F#, therefore it is in the blow
> chord.  How many half steps higher is D from C, or perhaps easier to think
> about, how many keyboard notes lower is C from D?
>
> D C# C
> 0 1     2
>
> One blow without the button is two keyboard notes lower than the note we
> are searching for.  Which button or combination of buttons will raise the
> pitch 2 keyboard notes?  Button two.  Therefore play blow holes one through
> three with button two pressed and get a D major chord!
>
> You don't even have to know the name of the notes in the D major chord.
> All you need to know is the root and what holes to play and what
> combination of buttons to push.
>
> Here is a list of the chords built into the layout and the holes they
> appear in.  Some chords appear in more than one location but I am only
> listing the lowest location.  All of these chords listed can be played in
> all 12 keys.
>
> Major
> 1 2 3
>
> Major 7th
> 1 2 3 4
>
> Major 6th
> 2 3 4 5
> The root of this chord is in hole 3.
>
> Dominant 7th aka 7th
> 3 4 5 6
>
> 9th
> 3 4 5 6 7
>
> 9 #11
> 3 4 5 6 7 8
>
> Minor
> 2 3 4
>
> Minor 7th
> 2 3 4 5
>
> Minor 6th
> 4 5 6 7
> Root is in hole 5
>
> Minor 7th flat 5 aka half diminished
> 4 5 6 7
>
> Minor Major 7th
> 5 6 7 8
>
> Augmented
> 6 7 8
>
> Fully Diminished
> 8 9 10 11
>
> Although the draw holes nine through twelve are for the WILD Chord and
> therefore are not necessarily a fifth above the fully diminished chord,
> diminished chord theory means all 12 fully diminished chords are present.
> Let me know if you want an explanation.
>
> 7 flat 9
>
> This chord is in two separate locations because 4 of the five notes
> involved are the notes from a fully diminished chord.
>
> A through E 7 flat 9
> 7 8 9 10 11 12
>
> Eb through Bb 7 flat 9
> 8 9 10 11 12
>
> WILD CHORD
> Let's say the song calls for CSus7.  I type it in.  If the song calls for
> more than one Wild chord, I can type it in song that button one creates
> it.  If the WILD Chord is a five note chord, I can change hole eight if
> unimportant to the other chords.  If it is important, I can try and create
> a situation where pushing in the buttons will get the chord desired.  If I
> cannot succeed there I use four of the five notes from the chord and trust
> the bass player will play the root.
>
> The main point is there are a BOATLOAD of chords available.
>
> If you know your intervals or your scale degrees, this layout is super
> easy.
>
> If you do not but know the names of the notes on the keyboard, this layout
> is understandable.
>
> Remember when you learned to play a C harp in the key of G, but then had
> to learn how to find the correct harp for cross harp keys?  In the
> beginning, it was hard.  You might even have used a chart.
>
> After a while you figured out the key of E meant you needed an A harp.
> Then you knew all your harps.
>
> This layout is like that.  In the beginning it may seem challenging.
> After a while, you will see the name of a chord and know exactly which
> holes to play, whether to blow or draw and which combination of buttons to
> push.
>
> Michael Rubin
> michaelrubinharmonica.com
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__michaelrubinharmonica.com&d=DwMFaQ&c=lqHimbpwJeF7VTDNof4ddl8H-RbXeAdbMI2MFE1TXqA&r=B1GwiLT-Zt1KywUIAUsabra_vHLutl-s8Zr7tiZjwOk&m=S41BsviVzRo86Vf9_P7X-64XWWCpV5rtkfsuqbpoEPU&s=MvQnJK_XJH5M86FiM3ZNRPVeCS-K33U0fHqKWTvl7F4&e=>
>
> https://youtu.be/eaSKBZqijnU
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__youtu.be_eaSKBZqijnU&d=DwMFaQ&c=lqHimbpwJeF7VTDNof4ddl8H-RbXeAdbMI2MFE1TXqA&r=B1GwiLT-Zt1KywUIAUsabra_vHLutl-s8Zr7tiZjwOk&m=S41BsviVzRo86Vf9_P7X-64XWWCpV5rtkfsuqbpoEPU&s=a2bQO-SYl8kawBroFuqleTncT6gP8ZbsMPWIKe3XF7M&e=>
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