Applications for Alan's "Modular Chord Harmonica"

Anything apart from the two mainstream default harmonicas (Solo-tuned fully-valved chromatic, and un-valved Richter 10-hole diatonic). Alternate tunings, different construction, new functionality, interesting old designs, wishful-thinking... whatever!
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IaNerd
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Applications for Alan's "Modular Chord Harmonica"

Post by IaNerd » Fri Nov 02, 2018 7:14 pm

I am very excited about this: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=267

Around the idea of Alan's modular platform, I have devised some chordal Big Sixes which, in combination with some kind of melodic (e.g. blues scale) Big Six, would constitute a highly adaptable system.

The diagrams below show five different chordal Big Sixes. I also show five tables, each of which describes how these harps can be combined with melodic Big Sixes in corresponding keys.

download/file.php?mode=view&id=405

download/file.php?mode=view&id=406
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Re: Applications for Alan's "Modular Chord Harmonica"

Post by IaNerd » Fri Nov 02, 2018 7:25 pm

Some good candidates for the "melodic Big Six" (discussed above) can be seen here:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=273#p1672

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Re: Applications for Alan's "Modular Chord Harmonica"

Post by IaNerd » Fri Nov 02, 2018 9:34 pm

Here is an alternative note pattern for each layer of the chordal harps above:

Hole 1: lower b7th
Hole 2: tonic
Hole 3: perfect fifth
Hole 4: upper b7th
Hole 5: octave of tonic
Hole 6: octave of perfect fifth

This pattern omits the thirds, and is therefore useful in both major and minor contexts. It also permits three nice octave spits per layer.
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Re: Applications for Alan's "Modular Chord Harmonica"

Post by IaNerd » Sun Nov 04, 2018 4:46 pm

The table below incorporates the "alternative note pattern" described in the post just above this one.

It also specifies the lowest possible tunings for Big Sixes, according to Seydel's Configurator at this time. Of course, if one used these six chambers as merely the beginning of a 10-, 12- or 13-hole harp, even lower chords are possible.

Note how every note has an octave-split partner.

download/file.php?mode=view&id=407
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Re: Applications for Alan's "Modular Chord Harmonica"

Post by IaNerd » Sun Nov 04, 2018 5:04 pm

If one were to add another chordal harp to this lineup, a good candidate would be a Bb/C harp. Then one could play I--IV--V songs as F--Bb--C.

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Re: Applications for Alan's "Modular Chord Harmonica"

Post by IaNerd » Tue Jan 01, 2019 4:14 pm

I discovered here https://www.brendan-power.com/forum/vie ... 1871#p1872
that Super-Circular tuning can be paired with a sibling that is tuned exactly four semitones higher.

As a pair, these two six-hole tunings comprise a wide array of highly useful chords.

CORRECTION: In the second tuning shown below, the overblow of channel 5 should say "E".
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Re: Applications for Alan's "Modular Chord Harmonica"

Post by IaNerd » Wed Jan 02, 2019 6:43 pm

The two tunings above, identified as "Cmaj" for the first one and "Emaj" for the second one, make up two parts of a functional triad of tunings that are equally spaced (by four semitones) on the Circle of Fifths. The third tuning of this triad is shown below.

There are four possible triads of this nature. Their relationships are laid out below.

https://www.brendan-power.com/forum/dow ... iew&id=429

https://www.brendan-power.com/forum/dow ... iew&id=430
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Re: Applications for Alan's "Modular Chord Harmonica"

Post by IaNerd » Mon Jan 07, 2019 6:02 pm

Please refer to the post above, at Tue Jan 01, 2019 11:14 am .

The second diagram of that post shows Super-Circular in the key of E. If we think about its Emajor chord as being a III chord (relative to the upper diagram in Cmajor), then we get this:

download/file.php?mode=view&id=433
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Re: Applications for Alan's "Modular Chord Harmonica"

Post by IaNerd » Wed Jan 09, 2019 4:20 pm

So let’s tally up all of the chords in a slide harp where where Super-Circular in Cmaj is paired with Super-Circular in Emaj, i.e. exactly four half-steps higher:

download/file.php?mode=view&id=434
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