DATE: Sat, 27 Nov 1993 14:02:45 CDT From: Winslow Yerxa <76450.32~ompuServe.COM> Subject: Cham-Ber Huang's Book
Chris Pierce inquires about Cham_ber Huang's Blue and all that Jazz book-harp-cassette combo.
I have this; Cham-ber gave me a copy at a music trade show back in January. This title is a little misleading, in that the harp he gives you - and his approach - have nothing to do with the Richter-tuned (G draw chord in the bottom octave) diatonic harps that are used for 99.999% of diatonic blues playing.
What he gives you is a solo-tuned diatonic, like a chromatic without a slide:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ======================================================================= DR | | | | | | | | | | | | D | F | A | B | D | F | A | B | D | F |&c |------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------| | | | | | | | | | | | BL | C | E | G | C | C | E | G | C | C | E |&c =======================================================================
(There isn't room to diagram all twelve holes, but the pattern keeps repeating)
First off, no G draw chord, but you do get a complete major scale, and the tuning pattern is consistent thoughout the harp. Note the repeated blow C's that help keep the tuning on track.
You can bend notes on this harp in full bluesy fashion, although the only really good bending notes are D and A. No blow bends. Overblows are a little chancy due to the reed dimensions - they tend to squeak. However, you can use it to play all the regular blues chromatic licks, and still have diatonic-style bending. Not bad.
What Cham-Ber is really doing here is attempting to sneak you into learning the basics of chromatic playing under the guise of the more popular blues. In fact, the later chapters require the use of a chromatic.
I wouldn't buy this package to learn blues. For that matter, Cham-ber doesn't understand diatonic bending and gives some very poor advice on that subject.
What this book is really good for is learning how to negotiate solo tuning, as a preparation for learning the chromatic.
I'll be doing a more comprehensive review of this in HIP No. 5. (along with an interview with Cham-Ber Huang)
