PowerChrom-Plus tuning

[IaNerd]

NAME: PowerChrom-Plus tuning

BASIC CONCEPT: There now exists a constellation of tunings which share high relatedness. Circular (thanks, Mike Photis!), Major Cross (thanks, Tony Eyers!) and several of Brendan Power's tunings (thanks, BP!) are strikingly similar in structure. This is one such variation, and is particularly similar to PowerChromatic tuning.

WHEN/HOW: July of 2017. Configured by me and constructed by Seydel's Custom Shop.


LAYOUT:



I Gmaj yes
ii Amin yes (x2), with 7ths
iii Bmin yes (x2), with 7ths
IV Cmaj yes (x2), one with 7th
V Dmaj yes (x3), one with 7th
vi Emin yes (full with 7th, and partial)
vii F#dim yes, with 7th



DETAILS: This is four reeds different from PowerChromatic. It is also nearly circular tuning, and nearly Major Cross. Compared to the latter, my layout contains a "point insertion mutation" resulting in a "phase shifting" of the upper tones from blow-to-draw and vice versa. This phase-shift flips the higher octave into a repeating and (in my view) a “proper” blow-draw pattern.

So far, this is my favorite basic diatonic melody/harmony tuning that is not particularly optimized for blues or some other special purpose.

[IaNerd]

Post deleted by IaNerd.

[IaNerd]

I just noticed this ....

With this tuning, one can play octave splits from A3/A4 to G4/G5 (that's eight consecutive diatonic scale tones) and the splits are all of equal width (i.e. three holes tongue-blocked each time)! Neat!

[Nick]

This is very similar to how I tune my diatonics, which I've call English tuning http://www.brendan-power.com/forum/view ... p?f=9&t=44
The main difference is mine start on a low G hole one blow.

[IaNerd]

Nick-- Thanks for pointing that out. At a glance I see some areas of similarity but also some important structural and functional differences. As soon as I can, I'll study this further and write/diagram a critical comparison.

Much of my undergraduate training was in evolutionary ecology. I'm finding it fascinating now how there are half a dozen tunings which share so much in common, and yet each has its particular differences. Cheers!

[IaNerd]

An update:

I've had two of these for a while now--one tuned to Cmaj and the other to Gmaj (i.e. lower). I like playing the lower one better.

PowerChrom-Plus has become my favorite "go-to" tuning. If I had a magic wand, this tuning would be offered by Seydel, Suzuki, Lee Oskar and Hohner as well as the smaller makers--in both introductory models (e.g. Easy Rider, Blues Band, Just Play) and high-end models (e.g. Crossover, Manji, Noble). I would really like to see an Airwave with this tuning.

It is SO easy as a beginner's tuning. And I believe that it has the built-in musical capabilities to keep a devoted learner happily engaged for a lifetime.

[Brendan]

Just had a look at this. I think the reason you like the tuning is that it's already out there and proven to be good.

From hole 3 upwards, this tuning is pure PowerChromatic. That's a tuning I devised in 1980 and have used ever since, including many recorded examples. The only deviation is in holes 1/2. Calling it a whole new tuning on that basis is a bit misleading.

I'm sure you weren't aware. That's the thing with good stuff: it often gets unknowingly reinvented