[Harp-L] German Major and Richter



Gruß,Frank writes (in response to Winslow, but since I have a stake I'll jump in as well):


"While i usually agree with your statements and keep learning from your impressive pool of wisdom concerning harmonicas and their history, i don´t second you in your statement, that the term "Richter" just refers to a type of construction rather than to a tuning."

I refer you to the following pages:

http://www.patmissin.com/ffaq/q37.html

http://www.patmissin.com/ffaq/q36.html

I don't have Pat's resources for fact checking, but I'll trust his assessment that originally the term "Richter" was meant to address the construction differences between the various diatonic harmonica types (Knittlinger octave, Weiner octave and tremolo, Hab-Weiner, Half-Concert, Richter, etc...) and later was applied to reference the tuning scheme, which was in fact common to all of these instruments as well as to other diatonic free-reed instruments developed in the 19th century (diatonic accordions, Anglo concertinae, Bandonions, etc...)

"While nobody really knows who Joseph Richter was (AFAIK), other that
he lived in the city of Haida and was manufactoring harmonicas, the
tuning you call German Major was an important part of his invention."

See the first link--the fact that so many free-reed instruments use this tuning, and were using it about the time Richter is credited with inventing it would indicate to me that the tuning was already in existence.

"With all those alternative tunings for 10-holes today there might be
need to  have a  name of it´s own for that standard tuning, but i don
´t see whats wrong with the term richter tuned in that scope."

The problem is that a Lee Oskar Melody Maker is still a Richter diatonic harmonica, as it uses the Richter construction (actually, one could argue that the recessed comb of the LO, Special 20 and the like deserves a new name for the construction compared to the sandwich of a Marine Band type, but even I would view that as being nit-picking). So there is an overlap between terms and thus confusion: if we call the tuning "Richter tuning" then you can have a Richter diatonic which isn't in "Richter" tuning.

"Btw. i´ve never heard the name "Deutsch-Dur" )which would be the
translation of "German Major") here in Germany ;)"

Which means you can be the first one to use it:). I'm pretty sure I came up with the term "German Major diatonic" to describe the tuning here on harp-l, and from there others have used it. My logic was simple: this is a common tuning to several types of harmonicas, accordions and the like many of which originated in what is now Germany during the first half of the 19th century. Thus the tuning fit the practices of German folk music at the time quite well (other cultures might have had different emphases in their folk musics, and thus created a different tuning). Thus the name "German Major diatonic" or just "German Major" (a cleaner term, thanks Winslow) made sense. Also, it eliminates the illogic of talking about "Richter tuning" when talking about non-Richter construction instruments like octave, tremolo and slide-harps.





 ()()    JR "Bulldogge" Ross
()  ()   & Snuffy, too:)
`----'








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