From: Jimmy Gordon Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 01:38:02 -0700 Subject: Re: Altered Chromatic Tunings
Hi David-
Thanks for the wholetone and diminished chromatic tuning updates.
I hope you're doing well.
David Fairweather wrote:
>One very nice feature of both the wholetone and diminished chromatic >tunings >is that once you learn >a scale, arpeggio, interval or other pattern, transposing that pattern >across all keys is easy and consistent.
>With the wholetone tuning each pattern has four possible "positions" and >even those four positions are related, sort of like reflections in a >four-way mirror.
>Also, I was wondering what other chromatic tunings give you a limited >number >of positions. The wholetone has 4 positions, the diminished has 3, are >there any practicable tunings that have only 2 or 1? I would imagine >that >the fewer positions you have, the longer the harp is going to become >over >the space of one octave. Maybe Pat Missin knows of some interesting >tunings like that.
The chromatic tuning that has all positions identical is that of the Polyphonia family.With all chromatic tones in a row on adjacent holes,transposition is but a hole away,requiring identical patterns for intervallic equivalency.The player just starts on his hole of choice,it's all the same.You are absolutely correct that the harmonica does tend to have a long octave span,and requires much precision in performing larger intervals,the difficulty factor increasing with the rangespan of the interval.
In order to have two differing positions and two only,one could use a similar tuning with non-identical exhale and inhale notes(The 263 has both blow and draw,but the notes are enharmonically equivelant,262 is blow only,etc.).
It would seem to me that there would be twelve basic different types,depending on the harmonic relationship between blow and draw tones,which would be identical in every hole,and then each reed plate would be tuned in chromatic half-steps for adjacent holes.(Of course there could be octave variations,theoretically giving more than twelve.)
Another "buttonless chromatic" you could try would be a tuning where all adjacent notes of similar breath direction are a whole-tone apart,and notes of opposite wind direction in any given hole are a half step apart.I've briefly sussed this out just now and it seems to yield similar results.
Come to think of it,I think you could use several structures(six not counting octave variations),as long as the two whole-tone scales were in opposite breath directions.
Shall we together wonder what Mr, Missins' take on this may be? <:)
Bye for now-
Jimmy <---- Can't seem to receive Pat Missins' "Altered States" possibly due to antiquated equipment,more likely because he can't hardly figure a computer out very well at all.....
