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From: Joe Fey
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 18:03:31 -0500
Subject: Re: Chromatic music reading

>From: ewa
>Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 12:39:51 +0000
ewa asks:

> I've started to study Phil Duncans chromatic harp book wherein he
>writes the notes as an octave lower than actual. ie: 5th hole written as
>first line below staff instead of as actually 3rd space.
>This appears to be a more elegant representational scheme eliminating
>ledger and added lines.
>
>My question: Won't I be handicapped when trying to read "regular music",
>not represented this way?(no wise remarks plse)

Phil's book is based on the layout of the 12-hole chromatic and he
doesn't really write the notes an octave lower, he simply tells the
student to play the instrument an octave higher. This is to accommodate
the many occasions on which the player has to go below middle C. If you
played true middle C (hole 1 on the 12-hole), you would have nowhere to
go for these notes.

When you venture forth with your 12-hole instrument to read "regular
music", you can simply do the same thing: play it an octave higher than
written. If you want to be able to play such music at actual pitch, you
should consider a 16-hole chromatic, which gives you a full octave below
middle C, or a tenor-tuned 12-hole such as the Hohner 270 Tenor C, which
gives you middle C in hole 5 by tuning the entire instrument an octave
lower.

Joe Fey
Gateway Harmonica Club, St. Louis