jonlaing
219 posts
Apr 09, 2011
7:21 PM
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Hello, all. I've recently been inspired by Brendan Power's tinkering and was really impressed with the concept of the Power Bender. The power bender, as it seems to me (and I've not yet played one, so I could be wrong) is focused more on the people who are fans of the first octave, and it repeats itself three times. Yes?
That's really cool to me, except I'm actually not a fan of playing the first octave. The middle octave is my home. I actually enjoy overbending, and I prefer it to big bends, like on the 3 draw.
So that got me thinking, could I use the concept of the Power Bender, except use the middle octave instead of the first? I've tried it in my head, but it doesn't seem to work out on a 10-hole. On the C, the B seems to be missing unless I do a repeat hole like on a chromatic harmonica, and use a 12 hole harmonica.
That extra hole seems like a waste. Has anyone figured this out? The only thing I could think of is tuning the 3/6/9 draw up Bb and then have the OB be a B, but then it's not the same as the middle octave, and then it kind of defeats the purpose.
Anyone have any ideas? Brendan, have you, or anyone else, tried this with any success?
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ElkRiverHarmonicas
635 posts
Apr 09, 2011
9:17 PM
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Seydel used to tune them like that, not powerbender, but starting on the two blow of a normal harmonica. You can retune one easy if you tune it to a higher key
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"There are only two things money can't buy - true love and homegrown tomatoes." - Lewis Grizzard
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jonlaing
220 posts
Apr 09, 2011
9:52 PM
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Do you mean the repeat hole? I know they still do it with the Solist 12. I saw that and thought it was the answer to what I was trying to do, and then saw that there was a repeat hole, and thought "there must be a better way".
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timeistight
43 posts
Apr 10, 2011
12:19 PM
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jonlaing wrote:The power bender, as it seems to me (and I've not yet played one, so I could be wrong) is focused more on the people who are fans of the first octave, and it repeats itself three times. Yes? No, that isn't the way the PowerBender is laid out.
Here it is in C:
C E G C D F A C E A
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1
D G B D E G B D G C
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jonlaing
221 posts
Apr 10, 2011
1:34 PM
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@timeistight: Huh, okay, that's a lot different than I thought it was. Thanks.
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jim
792 posts
Apr 10, 2011
2:29 PM
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maybe you'll find something you like:
Harp-o-matic
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Free Harp Learning Center
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chromaticblues
772 posts
Apr 10, 2011
3:15 PM
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The Hohner SBS is pretty interesting. I don't like the versoin that Hohner sells, but I think its a cool concept. A retuned 10 hole diatonic done with that tuning would be cool.
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oldwailer
1584 posts
Apr 10, 2011
11:19 PM
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I don't really like my SBS much either--but--if you hold it out the window of your car going 72 MPH, it plays a great version of "Shortnin' Bread."
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Always be yourself--unless you suck. . .
-Joss Whedon
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Micha
180 posts
Apr 11, 2011
5:40 AM
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Jonlaing:
I think you really have to try a tuning before you make conclusions about it. You have to play it, explore a few positions and then decide whether you like it or not. To me, it's really the only way...
I for example have started from PB tuning, but decided that I don't like the top 2 holes. But I love the middle octave, not because it plays nice in second position. But because it is REALLY nice in 1st and 4th as well, and plays BRILLIANT for minor tunes in 5th. So I now play Seydel Solist Pro 12 with: Lower octave=richter, middle and top octave= PB middle octave.
What I'm trying to say here: TRY IT! => Decide what you like about it => Change it and try it again => ...=> You're going to end up with something you love and you'll be more happy than you ever could be with standard richter.
If you want me to give you advice on whether I think you'll like PB middle octave: What position do you like middle octave (and the overbends) in?
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