Brendan Power & Alternative Harmonicas Forum

Here are some ways that the September 13 tuning (above) can be achieved by re-tuning Standard/Richter Lucky 13 harmonicas.

http://www.brendan-power.com/forum/down ... iew&id=332

All of the tunings in this Topic thus far share the ancestral trait of containing nearly the left half of standard Richter diatonic tuning. The tuning of this September 26th post is a departure from all of those. In this tuning, even the left half is different from Richter tuning.

Like the tunings above, this harp is made for chugging. But the chordal areas of the leftmost chords are now narrower. For example, this tuning provides only one way to play a I chord, as opposed to several. That may be seen as a disadvantage, because it is less forgiving of imprecise chugging on those left-most chords, and is arguably less expressive.

However, this tuning does present a distinct and possibly powerful advantage over all of its cousins above. In this September 26 tuning, the V chord can be played in a high register and a moderately low register—with or without its septimal minor 7th note. The same is true for the vi chord. This is an answer to those who felt that the previous tunings kept the V and vi chords only in a register that was just too darned high.

Note the presence of well over two continuous octaves of the minor hexatonic blues scale, playable with or without overblows. Also note that all the draw bends in this tuning are of the single/simple type.

Curiously (and quite unintentionally), the first six channels of this tuning are equal to "Circular/Zircular/Spiral" tuning with one tiny exception: the 2 blow has been lowered by one semitone.

http://www.brendan-power.com/forum/down ... iew&id=357

http://www.brendan-power.com/forum/down ... iew&id=358

From my post of September 13, I reiterate: Sometimes evolution involves simplification rather than elaboration (think: lizards --> snakes).

Please take a look at the diagram in the post just above. Then take a look at this post from thirteen months ago: http://www.brendan-power.com/forum/view ... &t=91#p559

And now, behold ....

http://www.brendan-power.com/forum/down ... iew&id=353

With further simplification ....

http://www.brendan-power.com/forum/down ... iew&id=344

If we now lower the 1 draw by two semitones, we will completely circle back to this point:

http://www.brendan-power.com/forum/down ... iew&id=352

Looking at the diagram that is two posts above this one, I thought: "That's okay. But I hate giving up those septimal minor 7ths for the IV and V chords."

And then I thought ....

http://www.brendan-power.com/forum/down ... iew&id=351

Three of the four tunings just above this post start with a vi chord (shown here as E minor) in the draw layer. If the 1 draw of those tunings was raised by one semitone, it becomes the minor 7th note for the I chord (shown here as a G major).

Both options are good.

The greedy chugger in me wants it all ….

to be able blow/draw chug alternately (i.e. without moving the mouth position) between:
--the bVII chord and the I chord (e.g. between Fmaj and Gmaj), and
--the I chord and the IV chord (e.g. between Gmaj and Cmaj), and
--the V and the IV (e.g. between Dmaj and Cmaj),
AND ALSO, to be able to hit those IV and V chords in their septimal minor 7th variants,
AND ALSO, to have the three pairs of blow/draw chugging chords be placed fairly close together, preferably in the lower half of the harp.

Of course, on top of all of that, I want to be able to move up and down at least two continuous octaves of the minor hexatonic blues scale, preferably in ways that do not require overblows.

The 13-hole tuning that I posted on September 12 comes very close to meeting all of these goals. Where it fall short is on the “chords be placed fairly close together” criterion; its three pairs of chugging chords span eleven channels of the instrument. So I have endeavored to retain all three chord pairs, but to bring them closer together. The tuning below accomplishes this. In fact, the first chugging pair (Fmaj/Gmaj) partly overlaps with the second pair (Cmaj/Gmaj), and that second pair partly overlaps with the third pair (Cmaj/Dmaj).

http://www.brendan-power.com/forum/down ... iew&id=359

This next one is pretty much the same thing as the tuning just above, but with an added vi chord (in this case, E minor).

http://www.brendan-power.com/forum/down ... iew&id=361

Inside the 13-hole tuning just above is a 10-hole tuning waiting to get out.

http://www.brendan-power.com/forum/down ... iew&id=362

In the 10-hole tuning just above, the 1 draw could be raised by one semitone. This change would forfeit the vi chord, but it would provide the I chord with a septimal minor 7th note.