From: Winslow Yerxa <76450.32~ompuServe.COM> Date: 31 Aug 96 17:49:25 EDT Subject: Chromatic Tunings, Part II
TO: internet:harp~arply.com
In part I looked at tunings for the slide chromatic harmonica that employed UNIFORM TUNINGS - tunings in which each hole of the harmonica is tuned the same as every other hole. Each succesive hole may be tuned anywhere from a semitone to a major third apart before gaps will appear in the chromatic scale.
In this post, I'll look at DIATONIC TUNINGS - tunings based on a diatonic scale. Which flavor of diatonic scale is less important that how the uneven number of 7 notes Tis are arranged in a system of even-numbered "places", where each hole yields 4 notes (2 blow, 2 draw). The major scale is traditionally used, but the tuning could be based on minor scales or modes with similar results.
Uniform tunings have various advantages. but their characteristic use of only one interval between notes in adjacent holes restricts the variety of intervals that can be played smoothly - by moving to an adjacent hole, with or without slide movement. And while there is greater uniformity in scale patterns than with standard tuning, many scales are made more awkward - and then that awkwardness is repeated in several other keys.
Let's look at standard tuning, or Solo tuning as it's been called for as long as anyone can remember.
==== SOLO TUNING
At its simplest, solo tuning is just a way of tuning a diatonic in order to:
- - Give all the notes of a 7-note diatonic scale in each octave - - Ensure that each octave is tuned like every other octave.
Solo tuning was developed from Richter tuning, and sought to eliminate two problems in playing scale-based material: The omission of two scale notes in the first octave (F and A on a C harmonica, to allow for a full draw G chord), and the inconsistent scale pattern above Hole 7. Solo tuning was created by taking Holes 4 and 7 from Richter tuning and repeating the pattern through 2, 3 or even 4 octaves.
(RICHTER-TUNED DIATONIC)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ================================================== DRAW: | D | G | B | D | F | A | B | D | F | A | +----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ BLOW: | C | E | G | C | E | G | C | E | G | C | ================================================== X X X X
(SOLO TUNING)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ============================================================ DRAW | D | F | A | B | D | F | A | B | D | F | A | B | ============================================================ BLOW | C | E | G | C | C | E | G | C | C | E | G | C | ============================================================ * * * *
Note the doubled C blow notes (marked with *'s). The Major scale has seven notes, but the blow-draw pairs employed by the harmonica uses 8 "places". Without doubling one of the notes, you'd get a change in the tuning as the scale progressed through successive octaves, as is seen in Holes 7-10 on the Richter-tuned diatonic shown above, or as in Spiral tuning, as shown below.
The BREAK Area
Also note that with Solo Tuning, in Hole 1 you blow, then draw to go up the scale. Then you move up to Hole 2, and again blow, then draw. Then you move over to Hole 3, and again blow and draw. A blow-draw, move-up pattern has been established.
But in Hole 4 the pattern breaks down. From the Draw A in Hole 3, we don't go to blow in Hole 5 - we DRAW again for B - 2 draw notes in a row - and then blow for C. If we didn't do this, all the blow notes from the first octave would become draw notes in the second, and vice versa. The third octave would be like the first, and a fourth octave would be like the second. This is called spiral tuning, and it has some advantages, but one big drawback. More about this later.
After we play the C in Hole 4, we can't go up the scale by drawing in the same hole. If we move over to the next hole, Hole 5, we expect the blow note to be higher than Blow 4, but it's the same note!
For these reasons I call the area from Draw 3 through Blow 5 (and Draw 7 through Blow 9) THE BREAK - it breaks up every expectation that the tuning of the first three holes set up. But it also offers some unique possibilities (see below).
Now, when we add the second harmonica in Db with the slide, we get:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ============================================================ DRAWSLIDE | Eb | Gb | Bb | C | Eb | Gb | Bb | C | Eb | Gb | Bb | D | _____________________________________________________________ DRAW | D | F | A | B | D | F | A | B | D | F | A | B | ============================================================ BLOWSLIDE | Db | F | Ab | Db | Db | F | Ab | Db | Db | F | A | Db | _____________________________________________________________ BLOW | C | E | G | C | C | E | G | C | C | E | G | C | ============================================================
We now get some interesting things. We get F as a slide-in blow note, and C as a slide-in draw note, which helps with some phrasings in achieving a legato. And any melodic interval (i.e. played one after the other) between same-breath notes in adjacent holes can be:
- - Made smaller by using the slide on the lower note:
C-E (major 3rd) -> C#-E (minor 3rd)
- - Expanded by using the slide on the higher note:
C-E (major third) -> C-Blow F (Perfect 4th)
- - Or simply raised a semitone by holding in the slide on both notes:
C-E -> Db-F
Given that solo tuning gives us a major 2nd, various minor and major 3rds, and a perfect 4th, we can now use the slide to raise them by a semitone, expand them, and contract them to produce a wide variety of intervals. And wider intervals, played by blocking out intervening holes with the tongue, yield even more possibilities.
Even the "break" area gains unique benefits from the slide.
- - It gives a Major 2nd (A-B) and a perfect 4th (G-C) not found elsewhere in the tuning. These can be raised with the slide. Larry Adler could never have played the Hora Staccato in Eb without that Bb-C slide-in trill that the break affords. And Toots loves to rapidly alternate the G-C, then raise it with the slide.
- - The Major 2nd and Perfect 4th can be expanded and contracted to give not only major and minor 3rds, but also a semitone (A#-B) and a tritone (G-C#). No other tuning under discussion so far yields these possibilities.
- - A chunk of the chromatic scale, from A to C, can be played entirely on draw notes, using the slide. This is regularly employed by Stevie Wonder, Toots Thielemans and others, often as a "rip."
- - The break also lets us play that nice A-B-D smoothly, and helps in the smooth phrasing of several major scales, (G, C, F, Bb, and Eb receivng the strongest benefits)
One thing that gets very tricky with Solo tuning is the chromatic scale. This would happen with any tuning based on a diatonic scale, becuase the scale intervals are of different sizes. This is one area where uniform tunings have a clear advantage.
To illustrate:
Starting a chromatic scale on Blow C in Hole 1, we blow, press in the slide, draw, press in the slide again. So far, so good. Then we move over to Hole 2. Blow, then press in the slide. Now draw.
SURPRISE! Blow-side 2 and draw 2 are the same. So we have to remember to skip one of these and go directly to Draw-slide 2 - only 3 notes in that hole.
When we get to Hole 3, we're back to 4 notes, just like in hole 1. But in Hole 4, we're into the break, and must remember to start on the draw note. Starting from there, we can either play the last 4 notes of the scale as all draw notes with the slide, or make the last note (C) a blow note in either Hole 4 or 5.
Pretty tricky. By contrast, augmented-chord tuning lets you re-use the Hole 1 pattern in all holes.
ADVANTAGES
- - Wide variety of harmonic and melodic intervals in adjacent-hole same-breath combinations - - 8 semitone trills, 5 whole tone trills - - ability to harmonize melodic lines in a variety of ways - - Unique characteristics of the break area - - C and F "choice notes" (blow or draw) - - flat-key major scales fairly smooth - - Each key offers different advantages
DISADVANTAGES
- - Repeated C's - - inconsistent chromatic scale pattern - - sharp-key major scales fairly choppy - - Unique characteristics of the break area - - Each key requires a different set of breathing patterns
==== SPIRAL TUNING
Let's say we start with the C Major scale, and decide that we maintain an absolutely consistent tuning pattern in these ways:
- - Each note will start with a blow note, then have a draw note one scale degree higher
- - From the draw note in any hole, the next note in the scale will be a blow note in the hole to the right.
Here's what we come up with:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ============================================================ DRAW | D | F | A | C | E | G | B | D | F | A | C | E | ============================================================ BLOW | C | E | G | B | D | F | A | C | E | G | B | D | ============================================================
Or, in the full chromatic version
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ============================================================ DRAWSLIDE | Eb | Gb | Bb | Db | F | Ab | C | Eb | Gb | Bb | Db | F | _____________________________________________________________ DRAW | D | F | A | C | E | G | B | D | F | A | C | E | ============================================================ BLOWSLIDE | Db | F | Ab | C | Eb | Gb | Bb | Db | F | Ab | C | Eb | _____________________________________________________________ BLOW | C | E | G | B | D | F | A | C | E | G | B | D | ============================================================
The most striking thing about this is that blow and draw notes exchange places from one octave to the next. C-E-G-B are blow notes in Holes 1-4 and again holes 8-11, but in between, they are draw notes in HOles 4-7. The opposite happens for D-F-A. Many players would completely shy away from this tuning for this reason alone, but if you can resist the urge to flee, you'll note a few advantages.
For starters, all the triads, 7th chords, 9ths, etc. possible in the C major scale can be played, as chords, on this tuning, because it expresses the entire scale in 3rds. We still get the alternate versions of F and C, but we don't get the double C's. And we get an absolutely consistent breathing pattern for an ascending or descending scale, even if it takes two octaves before it repeats. There's no break area, for better or worse. And for the chromatic scale - well, it's really no better than Solo tuning for consistency in breathing pattern.
ADVANTAGES
- - Consistent breathing pattern - - Well-suited to chords drived from C or Db major scales and their modes - - Yields wider range than solo tuning - - No break area
DISADVANTAGES
- - Breathing pattern takes 2 octaves to repeat, flips position every octave - - No adjacent semitones or tritones - - Only 4 whole-tone trills - - No break area
