Re: [Harp-L] Chrom alternate tuning, be bop Toots Thielemans ???



Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2005 20:46:15 EDT
From: Milehighdrums@xxxxxxx
Subject: [Harp-L] Chrom alternate tuning, be bop Toots Thielemans ???
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx

>Hi Everybody,
>I been looking around for info on chrom's ( Hohner 270 seems to be the work 
>horse around ...).
>does anybody around knows if Toots plays an alternate tuning then the 
>original Hohner note lay out for a 270???
>what advanyage would a chrom player have when using the bebop tuning for 
>chroms ??
>thanks for the info,
>mile high harper

Hi there,
  Unless he's changed his ways in the past couple of years, Toots has
always used 12 hole key of C chromatics, generally prefering his self named
Hohner Toots models since Hohner released them.

  There is an interesting interview at the back of Richard Hunter's book
"Jazz Harp", where Toots briefly discusses the idea of different layouts
that might make playing easier.  His description fits 'wholetone' tuning (2
octaves over 12 holes, NOT 'augmented' 4 octaves over 12 holes) and
possibly diminished tuning.

Bebop is a good tuning for people who are very familiar with regular solo
tuning and don't want to change to something to different to that.   There
are a few variations on the Bebop tuning theme.
Bebop usually refers to the fourth blow note of each octave being tuned
down a whole tone, on a C insturment this would be C retuned down to Bb,
and slide in C# down to B, replacing the redundant double up notes.  I
generally refer to this tuning as Bebop C7 because the chord you get when
you blow is now a dominant, others refer to this tuning as C/F because you
can play in keys of C and F without using the slide.
  Alternative Bebop by any other name is where the same reeds are tuned a
minor third down, so on a C instrument, blow hole 4, the C is tuned down to
A, and slide in C# is tuned down to Bb, which means you now have two triads
when you blow, eg. holes 1 to 3 is C triad (C, E, G) and holes 4 to 6 are A
minor triad (A, C, E).  
I generally refer to this as Bebop C6 because the first four holes' blow
chord is a sixth.

Another slightly less popular variation is C7 bebop tuning, but starting on
the fifth below the tonic.  So if its a C instrument, the blow notes from
hole 1 to hole 6 are G Bb C E G Bb,  blow 3 is the tonic of the instrument.
 This offers a different range to the player, whilst sticking to a pattern
they're used to.  Although I personally find it harder changing from
regular bebop to this setup, than simply picking up a G7 Bebop harp with
the same range, but in G instead of C.   I refer to this as Bebop over
fifth, or C7/G assuming its a key of C instrument.

Another tuning which is less talked about, but offers just as many positive
spinoffs is Cmaj7/Dm7 where the fourth hole of every octave is flipped
upside down - that is you blow instead of draw for B & C, and draw instead
of blow for C & C#.   This gets rid of the tricky breath pattern reversal
on that hole, makes the instrument easier to negotiate in some keys, and
offers a few more useful intervals that can be played at the same time.
Most of the arguments trotted out for using solo tuning over any other
altered tuning, give a strong case for using this arrangement, Cmaj7/Dm7,
instead of solo tuning.

When notes occur in more than one place on a chromatic harp, they are
optimal when placed in different breath direction and slide positions, to
offer alternatives when phrasing, allowing for more legato playing.  

One of the best layouts that takes full advantage of this is Diminished
tuning, which is also my favourite layout for blues and Jazz.  There are a
lot of positive spin offs to this layout which I cover in full on my
website.  

All these tunings and more can be found starting here
http://www.angelfire.com/music/harmonica/altered.html

Cheers,
-- G.
http://harmonica.7p.com





This archive was generated by a fusion of Pipermail 0.09 (Mailman edition) and MHonArc 2.6.8.