Search found 588 matches

by IaNerd
Tue Nov 30, 2021 7:46 pm
Forum: Brendan's Custom Harmonicas, Tunings, etc
Topic: Modular Reed mini shruti box?
Replies: 6
Views: 7848

Re: Modular Reed mini shruti box?

Vaguely, but yes. Drone notes might well comprise half of a harp's reeds. OR there could be some small device that could play a truly uninterrupted drone note (a la the D drone of uilleann pipes) while that person is also playing harmonica. A battery-powered digital unit would be easy to make, but t...
by IaNerd
Tue Nov 30, 2021 4:21 pm
Forum: Brendan's Custom Harmonicas, Tunings, etc
Topic: Modular Reed mini shruti box?
Replies: 6
Views: 7848

Modular Reed mini shruti box?

Brendan-- I would guess that you are familiar with shruti boxes. I have used mine for droning in tradition Irish music sessions. Your Modular Reed Harmonica system has me thinking about a mini Shruti box or mini bagpipe that takes Modular Reeds.
by IaNerd
Thu Nov 25, 2021 2:20 am
Forum: Interesting Alternative Harmonica Ideas
Topic: Suggested re-tuning for the Hohner PentaHarp
Replies: 3
Views: 31351

Re: Suggested re-tuning for the Hohner PentaHarp

I just noticed that my re-tuning (above) has a proper Gmin7 chord from draw 3 to 6, and then that same chord is implied (sans root) thereafter. Sweet!
by IaNerd
Wed Nov 24, 2021 6:09 pm
Forum: Interesting Alternative Harmonica Ideas
Topic: Suggested re-tuning for the Hohner PentaHarp
Replies: 3
Views: 31351

Suggested re-tuning for the Hohner PentaHarp

I ordered four Hohner PentaHarp s and have given them a short trial. One quick niggle: Penta Harp is a misnomer. This tuning is a repeating minor hexa tonic blues scale. Obviously I was not invited to the focus group. Another niggle: Hohner claims that every draw note is bendable. Well, sort of. The...
by IaNerd
Mon Nov 01, 2021 2:34 pm
Forum: Interesting Alternative Harmonica Ideas
Topic: Sets of modal tunings, especially for digital/midi chroms
Replies: 8
Views: 6238

Re: Sets of modal tunings, especially for digital/midi chroms

I appreciate those encouraging words. As for: The main disadvantage is that you would need to own a huge number of harmonicas to cover all models in all keys to use your system for traditional analogue harps! That might be true for a stage or recording artist like you -- but I can count my lifetime ...
by IaNerd
Mon Nov 01, 2021 11:03 am
Forum: Interesting Alternative Harmonica Ideas
Topic: Sets of modal tunings, especially for digital/midi chroms
Replies: 8
Views: 6238

Re: Sets of modal tunings, especially for digital/midi chroms

It's a fair and good question. Ever since I introduced Inverted Bebop https://www.brendan-power.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=612&hilit=Inverted+bebop#p2619 over two years ago I have been fascinated by keeping the tonic, third and fifth in the draw layer. I understand that having a note-bending joys...
by IaNerd
Thu Oct 28, 2021 11:58 pm
Forum: Interesting Alternative Harmonica Ideas
Topic: Sets of modal tunings, especially for digital/midi chroms
Replies: 8
Views: 6238

Re: Sets of modal tunings, especially for digital/midi chroms

You might like to do that with your many scale ideas also, rather than pay for analogue harps to be made.
Absolutely! I'm nearly ready to pull that trigger.

Q: For an alt tuning nerd like me, would I be better off with the DM48 or the HM12?
by IaNerd
Thu Oct 28, 2021 7:34 pm
Forum: Interesting Alternative Harmonica Ideas
Topic: Sets of modal tunings, especially for digital/midi chroms
Replies: 8
Views: 6238

Re: Sets of modal tunings, especially for digital/midi chroms

I studied the database of over 25,000 songs at https://www.hooktheory.com/cheat-sheet/key-popularity and found this: By diatonic modes: Ionian 50.4% Aeolian 39.5% Dorian 3.8% Mixolydian 3.7% Phrygian 1.1% Lydian 1.1% Locrian 0.3% By parent major scale (includes all relative modes of each parent majo...
by IaNerd
Thu Oct 28, 2021 4:22 pm
Forum: Interesting Alternative Harmonica Ideas
Topic: Sets of modal tunings, especially for digital/midi chroms
Replies: 8
Views: 6238

Sets of modal tunings, especially for digital/midi chroms

This discussion will be an extension of this: https://www.brendan-power.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=829#p3642 and this: https://www.brendan-power.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=845#p3752 Here I propose a set of tunings (two sets, actually) which are designed for digital/midi chromatic harmonicas (o...
by IaNerd
Tue Oct 26, 2021 5:00 pm
Forum: Interesting Alternative Harmonica Ideas
Topic: Spiral-DLT tuning (a working title)
Replies: 15
Views: 17352

Re: Spiral-DLT tuning (a working title)

Figures 5 and 6 in the posts above (Dorian and Mixolydian, respectively) place the a tonic at the 4 draw . The tuning in Figure 7a (below) also does this but for the Aeolian mode. Figure 7b (also below) shows how these three tunings can be reconsidered by instead placing their respective tonics at t...