Fast Wide Intervals & 5-Note Rolls on MIDI Harmonica

[Brendan]

Midi Harmonica enables several playing techniques that are impossible on traditional types. Fast wide intervals and 5-note rolls (a type of mordant or decoration) are examples of such Achilles heels of the standard analogue harmonica. However they're commonly heard in Irish & American fiddle tunes, and I always found it frustrating not to be able to play them...

This short demo of a couple of parts from "The Gravel Walks" Irish reel shows how they're now possible on the fabulous Lekholm DM48X Midi Harmonica - just by pressing the right buttons! Midi also allows one to play rapidly in a lower register (here with the sumptuous SWAM tenor sax sound in the iPad). It's so much fun!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJo80Jmo ... VlZm1ncHJq

HOW IT'S DONE
Unlike a standard harmonica, the DM48X is endlessly configurable in many useful ways. Besides being capable of being played in all 12 keys and with an 8 octave range, you can also save 18 different tunings in the Tunings Menu. (Mine is full, as you can imagine!).

Here I'm playing in Paddy Solo Tuning using my Slide-Diatonic layout. This is where the right slider button raises all notes to the next note of the home scale (the scale is key of G, this tune excerpt is in Am and C).

The DM48X has two extra buttons on top operated by your left hand, which can be set to raise or lower the pitch by any amount you want. In this case, the top buttons are set to a fifth and octave up. That's how I'm getting the fast repeated jumps to high pitches and back to the pedal note - a joyful bouncy effect that's so common on fiddle tunes!

The DM48X also has a pitch ribbon, which can be configured to give bends of various degrees (down or up). However, on the stock instrument it's not possible to get accurate bends of specific pitches, it's more of a general effect. To overcome this, I created a little add-on unit that has small probes set above the points where they will give specific bends when pressed down on the pitch ribbon.

I'm getting the rapid 5-note rolls by combining the right slide button (raised notes) with two accurately placed probes above the pitch ribbon. They lower the note by either one or two semitones: I select the correct one depending on where I am in the home scale.

The fast rolls are composed of melody note/raised note/melody note/lowered note/melody note - all happening in the blink of an eye! You hear these decorations in many different musical genres, and especially in Irish traditional music. Commonly called 'long rolls', they're a big part of its special sound and flavour.

It's so nice to be able to play these two previously impossible techniques now, thanks to Erik Lekholm and his wonderful invention the DM48X.

[Brendan]

Being able to get these techniques on Midi harmonica has made me think about what modifications might be required to make them possible on 'real' harmonicas (ones with free reeds instead of breath sensors).

There are a couple of good options. The simplest one is to make a slide harmonica in fifths, like the Irish Session Harps I offered for a while about 15 years ago. For Irish music, G/D and D/A slide harmonicas would give you the fast wide intervals in useful keys.

To have that ability plus add slide decorations, a DoubleChrom tuned in fifths would do it.

As it happens, I'm back working on a compact new version of this long-running harmonica project! It's had several rather bulky and unsatisfying iterations in past decades, but the new design packs everything into a much smaller and more user-friendly package. After several months work I now have a couple of good working prototypes,.

Besides the version for Irish & America fiddle tunes described above, it's capable of being made in many other good configurations. Hopefully I'll be able to release it as a custom harmonica available to buy in a month or two, fingers crossed!

[Brendan]

There's an extra bonus of having a slide harmonica tuned in fifths, or using the fifths-up button on the DM48X, besides the fast repeated wide interval notes.

Even though this clip has a range of over one octave (hole 5 to hole 9 on a normal G chromatic), using the top buttons on the DM48X I can play it all in holes 5-7.

Not just the fast jumps, but also the connecting phrase between the parts. It covers a full octave A⁴ to A⁵. By pressing the fifths-up button after the C⁵ note on hole 6 and dropping back to hole 5, the phrase can all happen in holes 5-7.

This principle will apply on a DoubleChrom or slide harmonica tuned in fifths also, and can make a lot of phrases that cover a wide range much easier - plus give the notes in them a different blow/draw/slide pattern, which can help also.