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Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 06:42:54 -0500
From: fssharp
Subject: Ode to Special Tunings

What with all the talk about playing bent notes and position playing
lately, I thought I'd mention a recent experience on finding the right
harp for a song. I've been asked to play "Georgia On My Mind" with a
local flute ensemble. The key is F. I haven't gotten the full charts
yet (how's that for sounding like I know what I'm doing), but I started
checking out the well-known melody in the chorus. Of course I picked up
a Bb harp, Golden Melody in this case, and tested it in 2nd pos. It was
ok, but the 3-draw-bb was pretty weak (not the tightest harp I've got,
and I struggle with lower key low bends). Knowing that Lee Oskars are a
little easier to bend, I searched for one that would fit. Turns out
I've got an Am Natural Minor (Dm 1st pos) and the song lies great on
this harp. It replaces the 3-draw-bb with a 2-draw-bb (stll an
intermediate bend on a NM harp), but after a little nail polish to fix
the squeal, it sounds much better. Best of all is that the bridge (or
verse, or whatever) is in Dm, so I can nail that on the Am NM. I would
have either had to switch harps or play in 5th pos (?) if I'd stuck with
the Bb as originally planned. I'm sure the experts would have known to
grab this harp for this song, but I was thrilled to have a harp which
worked so well with "Georgia". Now all I need is a lot of practice and
maybe I won't embarass myself at the concert in 7 weeks.

All this got me thinking about special tunings, and if Richard Hunter's
original challenge (as implemented by Winslow) was maybe a subtle
argument for special tunings. We know Richard is a big proponent of
using special tunings from his past posts, web site, recordings, etc. I
know, I know - Ode to Joy is a bad example since it can be played unbent
in 1st pos, and "Georgia" is not a good example either since you still
need a bend on a NM. But highlighting the difficulty of playing a clean
bent note does support the argument for special tunings. If a special
tuned harp allows me to play an "important" melody note better, it
certainly can add to my enjoyment of playing and probably adds to the
audience's enjoyment in listening. Nice tools to have.

Fred S