[Harp-L] Hohner Pentaharp

[jross38@xxxxx]

I may be a bit late to the party, but I wanted to write in with a brief review/opinion on the Pentaharp.  This won’t be the most detailed, for that check out this and others:

https://www.patmissin.com/reviews/pentaharp.html

So, I’ll just assume most people are aware of the tuning of the PH and that it’s based on the venerable Special20 (but with a really fun bright blue comb), if not follow the link.

In any event this basically gives a classic blues scale in 1st position, similar to the pentatonic box scale bad guitarists like me abuse to death.  When I saw it I thought it looked like an odd tuning, with some really strange choices and not all that interesting.  But in the mouth and in person it just works.  And works really well.

But why, since the paper and reality seem so at odds, what were my assumptions and what lessons can I learn from this difference between theory and reality.

First I should consider why it seemed odd on paper, and I think there are two main reasons, in large part because alternate tunings tend to follow two paths, one older and one more recent.

The older one is to emphasize good chords tied into a specific scale.   So, as with the standard tuning, things like Harmonic Minor, Natural Minor, and solo all follow this—the chords are useful and they enhance or follow the scale notes available.  Even something like Paddy Richter or Melody Maker which don’t have as useful chords are still based around major and minor triads and their extensions.  

The Pentaharp basically abandons this.  True, the draw chord is a nice minor triad, but the blow chord is, well, not something almost anyone would actively choose to build as a chord.  There are a lot of ways to consider it, but as a chord it’s rather odd.  It does follow the solo/MM theory of laying out the scale, but typically designs would look to either double notes or the like to get a more solid blow chord.  This design basically says “meh” to the way almost all harmonicas construct their blow chords.  

The more recent design path of alternate tunings generally looks to maximize bending, often with the goal of “chromatic” playing.  This decidedly doesn’t do that, with a three hole pattern where one hole doesn’t bend at all, and no designs on chromaticism whatsoever.  Indeed, in its intended key (1blow tonic) the bends available aren’t all that interesting, and it would be logical as I did to wonder if it wouldn’t have been better to make a drone of the fifth as is standard in holes 2draw/3blow, this the flat fifth would be a bend not a natural note.  But the designer of this tuning almost aggressively ignored the idea of optimizing bends, and chromaticism is nowhere to be found.

So, the Pentaharp ignores all of that and so is quite different from most other tunings both historic and recent.  So why does it work?  Because it’s fun.  It’s almost impossible not to stumble onto classic rock riffs.  But beyond that, you can pretty easily center your tonic on either the 1 or 3 blow or draw almost equally— ie, four positions which feel familiar but different enough at the same time—the power of the pentatonic scale in full effect.  Having a hole which doesn’t bend allows for some tension and relief within the octave in terms of navigation and feel, avoiding the sameness which can impact both uniform tunings and all-bending tunings.

An addictive tuning which has gotten me thinking about some of my tuning assumptions and ideas, and so now I have five of them.

Oh, as to quality, these are all quite good.  The setup is quite playable and easy, with tuning being acceptable—not perfect, as there’s usually one off octave in the top, but totally usable.  I’ve bought much, much worse tuned and set up harps that were a lot more expensive.

If you haven’t, check the Pentaharp out, it’s great fun.
 



Jonathan R. Ross