Chromatic tuning with irregular slide notes. Pros and cons?
Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2018 4:39 pm
Does anyone have any experience with chromatics where the slide does not affect every note in the same way, i.e. raising/lowering one half step? I am aware of slide diatonics, but "going to the next note in the scale" seems to me like a fairly regular thing to do. I could imagine this would make it harder to have a good intuition, but I could also imagine you learn where the notes are pretty quickly anyway.
Main question: What are your relationship with sliders that do different things to different notes?
I have close to zero experience with chromatics at present, and what little I have comes from tooting in borrowed ones. I've started to thinking about buying one, but I am not sure how to think when choosing a tuning; as one of my main motives for buying one would be playing melodic minor tunes in a few keys the standard solo tuning just doesn't make sense. I'd like to buy a decent harp and with a custom tuning those are comparatively pricey, so I try to gather whatever advice I can find not to have to spend this money twice.
One of my main contenders right now is this:
(I made 2 identical octaves for clarity, it repeats again in subsequent octaves)
A press of the slide will change the note half a step up or down or not at all. I am still unsure about some notes, but this is a feature of most of my suggestions. Does this seem reasonable?
It is mainly intended for Dm, but has some other chords as well. The reason I put chords there is mostly that I think it would facilitate playing arpeggios in some keys, but they might be useful to play as actual chords as well. Thus keeping some useful intervals I imagine would be a pro of leaving some notes unchanged. If there is a short passage in D major I would not have to work the slide so much in an arpeggio, and I think this would be nice.
Second main question: Do you have any other comments on this tuning?
Any thoughts on this would be most welcome!
Main question: What are your relationship with sliders that do different things to different notes?
I have close to zero experience with chromatics at present, and what little I have comes from tooting in borrowed ones. I've started to thinking about buying one, but I am not sure how to think when choosing a tuning; as one of my main motives for buying one would be playing melodic minor tunes in a few keys the standard solo tuning just doesn't make sense. I'd like to buy a decent harp and with a custom tuning those are comparatively pricey, so I try to gather whatever advice I can find not to have to spend this money twice.
One of my main contenders right now is this:
Code: Select all
Blow: Slide in g# a c eb g# a c eb
Slide out g a c# e g a c# e
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Draw: Slide out a b d f a b d f
Slide in a bb d f# a bb d f#
A press of the slide will change the note half a step up or down or not at all. I am still unsure about some notes, but this is a feature of most of my suggestions. Does this seem reasonable?
It is mainly intended for Dm, but has some other chords as well. The reason I put chords there is mostly that I think it would facilitate playing arpeggios in some keys, but they might be useful to play as actual chords as well. Thus keeping some useful intervals I imagine would be a pro of leaving some notes unchanged. If there is a short passage in D major I would not have to work the slide so much in an arpeggio, and I think this would be nice.
Second main question: Do you have any other comments on this tuning?
Any thoughts on this would be most welcome!