Power Chromatic

[Brendan]

Here's a video showing how to play all 12 keys on PowerChromatic using just about all bends. This is played on the Seydel version, which has been embossed for better airtightness:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDsP4k8-N8g

[Paris]

https://youtu.be/wZG3p1kscc0

Here's a clip of me trying to play Brendan's awesome solos from hesitation blues with Andrew White. Transcribing these solos and working on playing them has really helped me get familiar with PC tuning and its fun!

A little rough around the edges but you guys get the idea!

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness."

[richardjews]

I'll just stick with the chromatix or cx12

[Paris]

Brendan, I was listening to "What a Wonderful World" from "back to back" which is jusy incredibly beautiful by the way! There's a point in the melody where you go from a G to an A and it sounds like a button push us happening. 

It got me wondering if you ever configure your power chromatics like a slide diatonic?? ( slider raises to next scale tone)

Then i also wondered if you ever tune the slider a whole step up respectively.
For instance a G pc slider out and an A pc slider in (as opposed to Ab)


Anyways I'm really just wondering how you get that quick transition from the G to the A!

[Brendan]

Can't remember. Where is it in the track, I'll have a listen

[Paris]

It's right at 43 seconds into the tune.

[Brendan]

I just had a listen. At 43/44 seconds that's just a slide push and a couple of blow notes, no bend.

[Paris]

Right! That's exactly my point in a way. On my power chromatics, when I push the slide in it raises the pitch a half step, so in essence I have a Bb(slide out) and B (slide in).
BUT, your slide gives you a whole step, so are you using a power chromatic configired as slide diatonic(slide press giving you the ascending scale tone)??

It had never occurred to me to do this before but seems like a very intriguing modification!

[Sachlaw]

It had never occurred to me to do this before but seems like a very intriguing modification!

@ Paris.
If you like Diatonic then you might like something I am working with. I just flipped the plates. That way, when I am pushing the slide, I am always "Going Down," so to speak.

Couple of things this does for me so far:

1. I can use the throat bend and/or the button to bend down. This will let me play with the octaves, and I can play some embellishments that sound better to my ear than the other set up.

2. It give me a a chromatic bridge to a full step below (which means easy access to the b7th) any default hole pitch. So basically, every hole (back to front) is now a two hole draw in some way shape or form (a. no bend, bend, then a button push with bend, or b. no bend, button push no bend, then bend). In the other setup, the b7s for the keys to the left of your repeating note (ie on my G harp, the doubled note is E [GBDE/AC#EF#] so the b7s for GBD will take movement off the hole. Flipping the plates gives me G#CD#F/A#DFG. Now I am a push and bend away from the b7th for notes to the left.

This also helps me out quite a bit with muscle memory, as I know all bends or button pushes get me down.

[Brendan]

@ Paris: no, my slide on the PowerChromatic only raises a half-step. Check this video where I explain it, with tuning charts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5J_zVEEfuY

I think you're confusing PowerChromatic with my SlideDiatonic. That's a specialist harp I use for playing Irish and other folk tunes. It has the slider raising the note to the next diatonic note above, which could be a tone or a semitone.