Brendan Power
129 posts
Apr 16, 2011
10:41 AM
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Recently I have been getting interested in trying to play Indian music on the harmonica - not easy!! The traditional singers and instrumentalists bend everywhere, all of the time! After a lot of brain storming and trying different approaches, I came up with 6 new tunings and 4 different types of harmonica for playing one common raga, raag Bhairav. It has a particular scale with a flat 2nd and flat 6th. I've made short explanatory music clips of them for your interest.
Here's an alternately tuned 10 hole diatonic harmonica:
BRENDAN'S BHAIRAV DIATONIC No 1
http://www.brendan-power.com/Music%20Clips/Brendan's%20Bhairav%20Tuning%201%20-%20Scales.mp3
It is an expressive tuning, and hints at that Indian flavour with nice juicy bends in some of the right places of the scale. But it doesn't get all the bends (or meends) on every note. As far as I can see that is a requirement for playing authentically - certainly if you want to play in the same way as the traditional Indian instruments.
If you're a chromatic player you might have a different opinion! It's certainly true the chromatic does give a lot more ease with achieving the characteristic trills and decorations of Indian music, and that's why it's currently the harmonica of choice for most serious Indian players. However existing standard chromatics have all slide notes rising a semitone, which does not always give the appropriate ornaments. For example between Re and Ga, Ma and Pa, Dha and Ni; these have intervals of 2-3 semitones in raag Bhairav. Therefore I have created a new chromatic that does give the correct slide pushes for Bhairav, and has a few more tricks up its sleeve too!
BRENDAN'S BHAIRAV CHROMATIC No. 1
http://www.brendan-power.com/Music%20Clips/Brendan's%20Bhairav%20Chromatic%201.mp3
But I was still after all those exotic Indian slides and swoops, which are often big bends but full of microtonal subtlety. After lots of trial and error I think I've created the ultimate Indian bending machine. It is a customised Hohner XB-40 tuned to the Bhairav scale, and it can get ALL the meends on every note, up and down, using blow and draw bends. I think it has a lot of potential; hopefully you can hear that in the playing sections of this clip, especially towards the end:
BRENDAN'S BHAIRAV XB-40
http://www.brendan-power.com/Music%20Clips/Brendan's%20Bhairav%20XB-40.mp3
Finally I've made a new type of chromatic that has two different ways of playing the Bhairav scale, using draw bends alone. There is one way with the slide-out and another with slide-in. It gives the same full bending expression as the XB-40 but you have to use the slider to get the different optional bends, depending on which choice you want to make. It also has plenty of potential for Indian music, but requires lots of serious study to learn how to apply it with the correct stylistic embellishments. See you in a few years!
BRENDAN'S BHAIRAV CHROMATIC No. 2
http://www.brendan-power.com/Music%20Clips/Brendan's%20Bhairav%20Chromatic%202.mp3
I hope you enjoy listening to the clips and welcome any comments.
(If anyone wants me to make them one of these instruments, get in touch: bren@brendan-power.com).
Brendan Power
WEBSITE: http://www.brendan-power.com
YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/BrendanPowerMusic
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