Brendan Power & Alternative Harmonicas Forum

Another option would be to use a variation of Power-Crhomatic: G A C Eb G A C Eb G A C Eb A B D F# A B D F# A B D F# Brendan has used this for some recordings, at least his tune Sweet Bulgarity, and I remember him saying that he likes it for Balkan music as well. You could buy a Power-Chromatic Luck...

If you want to avoid overblows altogether, there are only two keys of powerbender that play a full Hijaz scale: F and Ab. (Edit: I messed up the keys. Should be correct now!) Doing it on an F harp is absolutely possible, but I'm not sure I would like it on a standard PB. In the lowest octave the sca...

I threw together some noodling in the Hijaz scale. The sound quality leaves a bit to wish for, but in an attempt to improve from my general reluctance to share recordings I resist the temptation of trying to record it again tomorrow (as I would likely just end up putting it off indefinitely...) http...

I’m getting interested in Balkan tunes which use the “Hijaz” mode/scale in D: D Eb F# G A Bb C D. Its not quite a diminished scale. I could play this on chromatic but are there any other altered tunings of harmonicas that might make it possible on diatonic? Also, any recommend recordings of someone...

Incidentally, I re-tuned a couple of Powerbenders to raise the blow 3 by a whole step, like the Paddy Richters/Melody Makers are. Not sure whether to christen the result a PaddyPower, PowerPaddy, or Melody Bender! In any case, it's nice for tunes in 2nd position with a lot of held 2nd notes (though...

I'm glad someone finds what I do interesting! The Perfect Tuning might never be found, or even exist, the search must continue :lol: I've been checking in on the thread a few times a day since you alerted me to it, and it's really nice reading! By the way, though i found the theorem yesterday, the t...

Slideless chromatic tunings are tricky, especially if you want them to be regular :) I think I've managed to prove mathematically the following: (If anyone wants the proof I could try and put it in a readable format, but that might take some time.) Theorem: If you want exactly two patterns to play a...

Thanks for the tip! I try to keep up with the SlideMeister subforums about custom tunings and instruments, but I had missed this thread. Your idea for a tuning is cool, and it seems reasonable. There is one claim you make, however, that doesn't seem to be totally true: 2. The wholetone-based tuning ...

Thanks for the charts Edvin. You are really good at coming up with useful tuning schemes for any harmonica configuration :) Thank you :) However, I wonder if we're talking at cross purposes? You talk about dual-function reeds as if the reeds themselves can be played as blow or draw. I guess you ima...

I'll have another go at what could be done if we could invert the blow/draw notes in a single holes, i.e assuming the blow note and the draw note in a single hole could change place. Spiral tuning has a lot of chords and is good and intuitive for melody playing. A disadvantage of the Spiral is that ...