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From: Mike Curtis
Date: Sat, 30 Nov 1996 12:26:45 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Re: Chromatic, when?

On Fri, 29 Nov 1996 WVE~OL.COM wrote:

> In a message dated 96-11-29 07:47:13 EST, blmclean writes:
>
> >Just wondering when, as a beginning harp player, I should step up to a
> >Chromatic?
>
> It should not be a matter of time or skill level but of the kind of music
> that interests you. You don't need a chromatic to play traditional blues. If
> you wish to play classical, standards, jazz, or other types of chromatic
> (having sharps/flats not in the key signature) music, change immediately and
> do your learning on the chromatic. If you wish to learn to read music, it is
> easier and makes more sense on a C chromatic. Or, get a chromatic now and
> play 'em both!

I pretty much agree. A chromatic is as good a first instrument as
anything. And it's easier to play chromatically than a diatonic.

> There are artists of unbelievable talent and accomplishment, such as Howard
> Levy and our own Iron Mike, who use heroic oral gymnastics to bend notes and
> approximate chromatic music on a diatonic (having no sharps and flats that
> are not in the key signature) harp.

I'm quite flattered! Heroic oral gymnastics sure has a nice ring to it!
However, I would be less than honest to agree. What I do isn't all that
exceptional, except for the fact that not many others have spent the time
to learn it. It's simply not all that difficult to install windsavers on
a diatonic, then master resonant bending. Advenced level harmonicists
with a big, fat acoustic tone already have mastered resonance, so learning
to use valved bending is fairly easy for them. I valved a harp for Jon
Gindick, who was able to play it almost immediately - in fact, his biggest
obstacle was the fact that it now required less wind than he was used to.
As far as learning to use the "new" notes, I'm sure there have been plenty
of times when every diatonic player wishes they had a note that wasn't
there. This solves that problem.

So big deal, eh ;-)

I honestly think that anyone who can learn diatonic well enough to play
melodic single note lines and bend proficiently is perfectly capable of
learning to use valved bending.

> With those exceptions allowed, most
> chromatic harp music is played on chromatic harps and most diatonic harps
> are used for blues and folk music. That's why they call them chromatic and
> diatonic.

Hmmm - I wonder if this is why they call him "MAD cat" ;-)

I know Vern left the emergency escape hatch open here, but I'd like to
place a lot more emphasis on the exceptions.

I know plenty of diatonic players who play styles other than folk and
blues.

While I play blues, my style is solidly based upon jazz and the chromatic
scale. In almost all music we don't require full 12 note chromaticity.

Before windsavers, I used positions to effect a form of chromaticity, in
that I would use some rather obscure positions so I could get the notes
required for the tunes I wanted to do. Sometimes I'd hawe to alter the
melodic line in order to play certain tunes. Of course there were tunes I
simply could not play because there were too many missing notes. Now that
I have valves, I can easily bend every note and get anything I need. In
fact, because the valved bends can be so much deeper, there are frequently
several places I can get various notes, which makes for more fluid
playing. (No this doesn't mean I have a saliva problem :-Q...)

While this sounds incredibly liberating, this capability has made it
possible for me to add just a couple of tunes to my list - songs like
Whats New and How High The Moon. It does make it possible to play songs
in different positions, to improvise with far more freedom, and makes it
possible to cover all positions on a single harp. It's also great when
someone springs a "surprise" song on you that changes keys or modes in the
middle :-)

Many find it surprising that the songs and riffs I now play haven't
changed radically from the time I used straight diatonics. The simple
fact is, most of the notes I as a jazz player need are already "there" on
a stock diatonic.

But my original point was that I used to play music normally considered to
be "chromatic" on a straight diatonic using typical methods.

I know several other jazz diatonic players out here in Southern California
who use traditional diatonic methodology. One of my favorites is Jay
Loeffel, who is currently gigging with slide guitar wizard Stan West.

A couple of very well known pure blues players who use chromatic
extensively are Rod Piazza and the late William Clarke. Little Walter and
others also made good use of chromatic for blues. There are plenty of
diatonic jazz players, too.

While I understand Verns point, and even agree that it's technically
close, I think it is possibly damaging to make a blanket statement like
this. If you like folk music, feel free to try a chromatic for it. There
is indeed a body of folk music that uses chromatic harp. Ditto blues,
country, and rock. If you play jazz, feel free to try diatonic. There
are plenty who play it quite well on diatonic. There are expressions
available on diatonic that are not there on a chromatic, and vice versa.


-- IronMan Mike Curtis
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