A family of new modded-Richter tunings

Anything apart from the two mainstream default harmonicas (Solo-tuned fully-valved chromatic, and un-valved Richter 10-hole diatonic). Alternate tunings, different construction, new functionality, interesting old designs, wishful-thinking... whatever!
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IaNerd
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Re: A family of new modded-Richter tunings

Post by IaNerd » Sat Sep 29, 2018 5:15 pm

This tuning differs from the one just above it by raising the 1 blow by two semitones. This narrows the Fmaj chord slightly but does not interfere with its blow/draw "chugging" alignment with the I chord in the draw layer. This change also creates (in this example’s key) a D minor chord. Doing so makes possible the i—iv—v chord progression, in this case based on the key of A minor, i.e. Am—Dm—Em.

I should point out at this time that this tuning and several of its siblings above can also play some i—VI—III—VII progressions. The tunings shown can do this based on the song chord of A minor (i.e. Am—F—C—G) and also of E minor (i.e. Em—C—G—D).

As I study this tuning further, quite a few more minor chord progressions are becoming evident. I will try to list and describe these in a following post.

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Re: A family of new modded-Richter tunings

Post by IaNerd » Sun Sep 30, 2018 6:49 pm

As promised in the post above, I will now present an INITIAL list of playable chord progressions ....

Please note:

1. This list is for what could be played with this tuning, and in this particular key (the diagram above is of a harp built around the key of of G major). Harps with this basic tuning but in other keys would obviously be able to play these same progression formulas in other keys.

2. This list is far from complete. This is just my first attempt at this. I am certain that this list fails to include perfectly worthwhile chord progressions. I will likely update this list in the future, but it might not ever be truly comprehensive.

3. This list may (read: will) have some mistakes. I have put it together quickly and have not yet proofread it myself, let alone have it proofread independently by a person with actual expertise. Question marks (??) indicate issues about which I am currently uncertain.

4. If you have comments/corrections to share with me, please do so by PM.

So please consider this list as being a preview of something more comprehensive and more correct, which will come at a later date.

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Re: A family of new modded-Richter tunings

Post by IaNerd » Wed Oct 03, 2018 4:53 pm

In "standard" Richter diatonic tuning, many of the "chords" are composed of not three notes (a Root, a Third, and a Fifth) but only two. As such, they are termed "dyads" as opposed to "triads". Playing these dyads has become a key part of that tuning's bluesy style.

I have been reexamining my tuning (yet unnamed) from two posts above--this time looking to include its partial chords or dyads. In the diagram below, I do not show the dyads that are obvious; for example, in the F major chord I do not point out that the F and A notes comprise a partial F major chord.

I do, however, point out some dyads which could easily be overlooked. There are two E minor dyads "hidden" within the bank of C major chords. There is an A minor dyad "hidden" in the last two draw notes. All of these are in a sense repeats of full triads which were already shown.

The big news here is in the existence of a a "hidden" G minor dyad in the last two blow notes. If one is inclined to use this dyad to represent the G minor sound in the context of a tune, then this dyad opens up many more possible chord progressions. Which means that the diagram in the post above is soon to become much larger. This is further indication of this tuning's incredible versatility.

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Re: A family of new modded-Richter tunings

Post by IaNerd » Wed Oct 03, 2018 6:51 pm

Here is a more correct and more complete version of the table shown two posts above this one.

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Re: A family of new modded-Richter tunings

Post by IaNerd » Thu Oct 04, 2018 6:59 pm

A guitarist friend has pointed out that this tuning also contains no fewer than five "sixth chords". These are chords with a Root, a Third, a Fifth and also Major Sixth note. The sixth chords of this tuning are: G6, F6, C6 and D6, plus the partial chord of Gm6, which lacks the Fifth.

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Re: A family of new modded-Richter tunings

Post by IaNerd » Thu Oct 11, 2018 5:44 pm

The tuning shown in the post above was built from the ground up to: (1) have team of highly useful chords; and (2) be able to play the minor hexatonic blues scale with expressive bends.

However, some other useful scales are present.

1. From 1 blow (D3) to 5 blow (E4) is a Dorian mode scale in D, plus one extra note above, with no bends.
2. From 6 draw (B4) to 10 draw-bend (B5) is a Phrygian mode scale in B, with the upper B being the only draw-bend in the scale.
3. From 7 blow (C5) to 10 draw (C6) is a Lydian mode scale in C, with the subtonic B being the only draw-bend.
4. From 1 blow (D3) to 4 draw (D4) is a Minor Pentatonic scale in D, with no bends.
5. From 1 draw (E3) to 5 blow (E4) is a Locrian mode scale in E, with no bends.
6. From 1 draw (E3) to 5 blow (E4) is a Minor Pentatonic scale in E, with no bends.
7. From 1 blow (D3) to 9 draw (A5) are two and a half octaves of Minor Pentatonic scale in A, with the middle A being the only draw-bend.
8. From 2 draw (E3) to 5 blow (E4) is a Phrygian mode scale in E, with no bends.
9. From 2 blow (F3) to 5 draw-bend (F4) is a Major Pentatonic scale in F, with the upper F being the only draw-bend.
10. From 2 blow (F3) to 6 blow (G4) is a Lydian mode scale in F, plus one extra note above, with the upper F being the only draw-bend.
11. From 2 draw (G3) to 6 blow (G3) is a Major Pentatonic scale in G, with no bends.
12. From 6 draw-bend (A4) to 9 draw (A5) is a Dorian Mode scale in A, with only the lower A being a (somewhat difficult) draw-bend.

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Re: A family of new modded-Richter tunings

Post by IaNerd » Sat Oct 13, 2018 3:56 pm

Here I will revisit the tuning that I posted on Wed Sep 26, 2018 11:51 am. The tuning that I show here is the same as before, but diagrammed much more thoroughly. I also include a table listing chord progressions that can be played with this kind of Seydel Big Six.

The chordal capacity of this little harp reminds me of the TARDIS. :D

ADDENDUM October 27, 2018: If one is willing to forego the full Emin chord starting on 1 draw, that E note could be changed to an F. This provides an the Gmaj with a lovely dominant seventh note, i.e. F-G-B-D. Similarly, if one does not need the Dmin, the 1 blow can be changed from D to Eb, which provides the Gmaj with a dominant seventh note, i.e. Eb-F-A-C.

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Re: A family of new modded-Richter tunings

Post by IaNerd » Sat Oct 20, 2018 5:38 pm

The six-hole tuning diagrammed in the post above (first posted on Wed Sep 26, 2018 11:51 am) I shall now call "Super-Circular".

This Super-Circular tuning is incredibly chord-rich, making it well suited to harmonic accompaniment. But when translated to a 10-hole format, channel 6 of Super-Circular could lead directly into a more melodic right end of a larger harp. So far, the following Frankentunings (see below) have come to mind.

NOTE: When the original six-hole Super-Circular tuning is extended to ten-hole harps such as the Session Steel or 1847 models (and away from Big Sixes), this opens up the exciting possibility of using low tunings. This makes for more mellow-sounding chords and a melodic scale that is not too shrill.

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Re: A family of new modded-Richter tunings

Post by IaNerd » Sun Oct 21, 2018 7:43 pm

In the post just above, we see that grafting Super-Circular to Pentabender in a 10-hole format is a near-miss, because it fails to create a C-to-C major diatonic octave. One more channel is needed to get the upper C. The first diagram below shows this in a 12-hole format. Of course, this would also work in 13-, 14- and 16-hole formats.

The second diagram below shows that grafting Super-Circular to PowerChromatic permits that C-to-C octave to fit within a 10-hole format. And it is still fully chromatic, IF one is prepared to play the two G#/Ab notes with overblows.

So for a moment let us consider the specifications of the second tuning below:

1. An impressive set of chords (all in the first six channels!) capable of melodic accompaniment for most common chord progressions and innumerable songs. The I, ii, iii, IV, v, V, vi, vii°, and many more.
2. Over two major diatonic octaves without using any bends or overblows.
3. Almost three continuous octaves of fully chromatic play, when using draw bends and just two overblows.
4. It all fits into a 10-hole slideless format.

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EdvinW
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Re: A family of new modded-Richter tunings

Post by EdvinW » Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:32 am

The Super-Circular/PowerChromatic look nice, how would a minor version look?

One way would be to do something like the following:

Code: Select all

e  g  b  d  f  a  c  d  f  a
1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10
f  a  c  e  g# b  d  e  g# b
This is a harmonic A minor tuning that can play natural or melodic minor with draw bends. As for chords it has both v and V, which is handy when switching between different minor modes.

Some drawbacks are that it lacks a complete natural minor scale without bends, and that the large bend between f and g# requires some additional precision.
Edvin Wedin

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