[Harp-L] New tuning #1

[Roger Myerson]

I didn't invent fourkey tuning, that is credited to Andy Newton, who 
wrote about it in 2007.  I learned about it in 2009 and have been 
playing fourkey harps ever since (thanks to Seydel's configurator!).
I spent several years systematically studying variants of fourkey 
tuning, and in that search I discovered pentabender tuning in 2014. 
(Nobody seems to have thought about the pentabender note arrangement 
before that, which is still surprising to me because it is such a 
natural idea.)

Let me add that the fourkey harp that I play has a slightly modified 
setup, with the high draw note raised one half-step to give me two full 
octave.
You mentioned a fourkey that plays major keys (Bb,F,C,G) with this nice 
note arrangement:
Blow:
G-Bb-C-Eb-F-G-Bb-C-Eb-F
Draw:
A-B-D-E-F#-A-B-D-E-F#
If you raised the high draw reed from F# to G, you would have two full 
octaves (probably G3-to-G5), and converting the high F# to a bend note 
would not be a problem in three of the four keys, as F# is not in the 
Bb, F, or C major scales.
The layout of my (Bb,F,C,G)-fourkey is similar but starts in C (the root 
of the 3rd major position) and has a two-octave range from C4 to C6:
Blow:
C-Eb-F-G-Bb-C-Eb-F-G-Bb
Draw:
D-E-F#-A-B-D-E-F#-A-C
All my 10-hole harmonicas are transpositions of this layout.
Roger

On 5/1/2023 3:55 PM, Jeremy Uejio wrote:
> Hi Roger!
>
> It's an honor to meet the inventor of the fourkey tuning. Thank you 
> soo much for inventing that!  I enjoyed your classical music videos 
> and also the Jazmaan jazz videos. Thanks for passing that along.  I 
> keep meaning to post some videos of me playing some tunes with my 
> fourkey tuned Seydel, but I just haven't had the time (or the skill!) 
> to practice.
>
> jeremy
>
> On Mon, May 1, 2023 at 12:46 PM Roger Myerson <rmyerson at xxxxx> 
> wrote:
>
>     Hi Jeremy:
>     I have been playing fourkey tuning since 2009.  I have explored a
>     lot of
>     other tunings, but ultimately this has been the one for me.
>     In the past few years, I have been developing arrangements of
>     classical
>     music pieces for a little 10-hole fourkey harmonica.  You can see
>     them
>     performed by a player with very limited ability (me) at
>     https://home.uchicago.edu/~rmyerson/classical4key.htm
>     But the best examples of what a great player can do with a fourkey
>     harmonica are Jazmaan's videos from 2009:
>     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-Thib725Ig
>     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5un0JAkWoc
>     I hope to see you at SPAH this summer.
>     -Roger
>
>
>     > Date: Mon, 1 May 2023 11:58:15 -0500
>     > From: Gary Lehmann<gnarlyheman at xxxxx>
>     > To: Jeremy Uejio<jazzju at xxxxx>
>     > Cc:jross38 at xxxxx
>     <mailto:Cc%3Ajross38 at xxxxx>,harp-l at xxxxx
>     > Subject: Re: [Harp-L] New tuning #1
>     > Message-ID:<C2CFB298-246E-4630-B32C-DFBA67491752 at xxxxx>
>     > Content-Type: text/plain;     charset=utf-8
>     >
>     > I am down with the Fourkey.
>     > Today I am working on other people?s harps but send me a number
>     and I will gladly chat.
>     > Gary
>     >
>     > Sent from my iPhone
>     >
>     >> On May 1, 2023, at 11:40 AM, Jeremy Uejio<jazzju at xxxxx> wrote:
>     >>
>     >> ?
>     >> Have you ever tried fourkey tuning?  It takes getting used to
>     and doesn't have a lot of common chords.  They come in different
>     keys as well.  I have one which is tuned:
>     >>
>     >> Blow:
>     >> G-Bb-C-Eb-F-G-Bb-C-Eb-F
>     >> Draw:
>     >> A-B-D-E-F#-A-B-D-E-F#
>     >>
>     >> This means that you can play every note in the chromatic scale
>     with just two bends (Ab and Db). It also means that you can play
>     in 4 keys without any bends.  So, in my case, I have the keys of
>     C, F, G, and Bb.   It has just under a 2 octave range so it's
>     quite limited, but it turns out that it roughly is in the same
>     range as my voice (except for the high F and F#), so if I can sing
>     a song, then I can play it. Haha!
>     >>
>     >> I started combining my fourkey tuned harp with a circular tuned
>     harp (in C) so that I can play some common chords and that works
>     out pretty well.
>     >>
>     >> I would be happy to discuss or demo fourkey tunings with you
>     offline.
>     >>
>     >>
>     >> jeremy
>     >>
>
>     -- 
>     Roger B. Myerson, David L. Pearson Distinguished Service Professor
>     Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago
>     1307 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637
>     http://home.uchicago.edu/~rmyerson/
>

-- 
Roger B. Myerson, David L. Pearson Distinguished Service Professor
Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago
1307 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637
http://home.uchicago.edu/~rmyerson/