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

[Michael Rubin]

Thanks Richard!

1.  You are correct.  I have seen a midi sound program that is able to
imitate the sound of a chromatic remarkably well.  I have not purchased it
yet.  I have created a bastardized version of this tuning that would work
using two chromatics attached via Brendan Power's twin chromatic system.
However,  I would need to find someone to tune basically EVERY note on two
chromatics and come up with around $1000 to do it.  Maybe someday.

2.  The keyboardist needs to know ALL the notes for all the chords and
their inversions, or at least all the intervals.  The DM48ist needs to know
the location of the chord type, the distance of the root of the chord to
the distance of the built in root note and which combination of buttons
will produce the new root.  That is much simpler.

The keyboardist must have a very good sense of when to let the hands off
the notes to produce the correct duration.  The DM48ist stops the breath to
create the duration of the note.  I might argue that the use of breath is
more intuitive.  However an advanced keyboardist can get past this problem.

 Dynamics are based on breath control not force of hands.  The dynamics of
a chord can alter during the duration of a chord whereas the keyboardist
creates the dynamics with the initial pressure of weighted keys and then
can turn a knob to alter the dynamics during the duration of a chord.

 Not all midi sounds allow for tremolo created by the breath, but some do.
The keyboardist can only attempt to emulate tremelo by using a built in
sound that is either ON or OFF.

 Sounds can be stopped or started with a tongue articulation or a throat
articulation.  These options create different sounds that can be altered at
will.

Be clear I am not saying any of this is BETTER than what the keyboardist
can do.  It is just different.  I agree with you that the different
voicings on a keyboard are a great advantage.  For a simple song with just
a few chords, different voicings could be programmed into the WILD chords.

Finally, there is the novelty of the instrument.  WHen I perform with my
DM48, I am bombarded by audience members after the show wanting to discuss
it.  The keyboard has lost its shine in that respect.
Michael Rubin
michaelrubinharmonica.com



On Tue, Oct 10, 2017 at 7:28 AM, Richard Hunter <rhunter377 at xxxxx>
wrote:

> This tuning is a remarkable use of the DM-48's capabilities.  I have a
> couple of questions:
>
> 1)  The sound of these chords is whatever the synth you have the DM-48
> connected to is running, yes?  So the result is not necessarily (or even
> usually) a "harmonica" sound, right?
>
> 2)  If I can play a keyboard, is there a particular reason I would choose
> to control my synth using a harmonica-like controller instead of a
> keyboard?  Especially given that I have a lot more freedom in terms of the
> chord voicings on a keyboard than I do on a harmonica?
>
> Thanks, RH
> --
> Check out our 21st Century rock harmonica record "The Lucky One" at
> https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/richardhunter
>
> Author, "Jazz Harp" (Oak Publications, NYC)
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