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From: dijk~orldaccess.nl
Date: Thu, 10 Oct 96 20:50:23 GMT
Subject: RE: HUANG Compact Chord 48

As a reply to the my remarks about the construction of the Huang Compact Chord
48, Winslow Yerxa came up with some very fine background information about this
instrument. Although I am still a little bit disappointed about some of the
voicings (the '1 bass', 1,3,5 voicings), the chart with chord symbols that
Winslow did include with his mail is very interesting.
When I started to compose my first piece for harmonica ensembles, I did make
exactly the same chart, not knowing that in practical use, it is unvaluable.
The chordsymbols are only indicating the vertical structure of the chords. When
composing for the chord instruments in combination with a bass player, it is
very important to make a melodicly sounding chord progression for the chord
instrument, while otherwise it will only one block of sound which has only some
rhythmical funtion but no melodic (and ofcourse no harmonic) function.
Ofcourse Winslow does know this all very well, but showed up with this chart
because the one I published was only one piece of the cake! Winslow did publish
the complete cake. Thanks.

While I was checking out this charts (especialy the relating chord symbols), I
was trying to find some harmonica situation in which some of the 'strange'
chords had a very nice practical use.

This is what came out of my brain, in combination with a very little keyboard I
have in my also very little room:

===== MAJOR TRIADS (Top Deck, Blow)
(published in the original article by Winslow Yerxa)
* = my examples of practical usage of these chords

C/C = C major, root position
C/Db = Db diminished, w/major 7th
* Very nice, play: | C/Db | Ebdim7/Db | E/Db |

C/D = D11 (3rd, 5th are missing)
C/D = D minor 11 (see above)
* This realy is a sus chord (from the static point of view)
D7,9sus4

C/Eb = Eb 7 b9 13 (5th and 7th are missing)
* Yep, you are right! Very nice: | C/Eb | Cm/Ab |

C/E = C major, 1st inversion
C/F = F major 9th (3rd is missing)
C/F = F minor, w/major 7th, 9th (3rd is missing)

C/F# = F# 7b9 +11 (3rd, 5th are missing)
Yep, Listen: | C/F# . Caug/F# . | C#aug/B C#m/B Cdim/B . | B/E ...|

C/G = C major, 2nd inversion

C/Ab = Ab augmented, Major 7th
* Very useful in latin situations: | Cm/Ab . C/Ab . | Db/Eb . Dbm/Eb . |

C/A = (C major over A bass) = A minor 7th

C/Bb = Bb9 +11 13 (3rd, 5th are missing)
* Beautiful as a ending cadence with fermates above it:
| C/Bb . . . | Ebdim7/Bb . . . | Dm/Bb ... ||

C/B = C major 7th, 3rd inversion
Very useful in a situtation like this:
| C/B . Baug/B . | B/E ... ||

- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This weekend, I will try to find out harmonic situations in which the rest of
the charts is used.
BTW, some of the chords, used in the examples are not available at the chord
instruments at exactly the same pitch, so maybe some of the examples should be
transposed to be playable or to represent the smoothest voice leading!

Winslow, maybe you know some examples too! We can build a chart with very nice
harmonic formuleas for the chord instrument with bass. Would be very
interesting for me.


Wim Dijkgraaf
The Netherlands