harmonica

Abstract

To provide an improved harmonica for playing blue note pitch.SOLUTION: There is provided a blues scale harmonica based on the minor pentatonic scale comprising a pentatonic scale in a minor key by adding a semitone down 5 degrees, in which at least 10 combs are included, an assignment of combs to blowing and sucking channels is determined by a note arrangement of a minor blues scale, and for this purpose three adjacent combs of at least one octave are tuned on the blowing notes (1), (4) and (5), and on the sucking notes (3b), (5b) and (7b).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a harmonica with pentatonic tuning. This harmonica excels at playing blues scales and can be played simply by performing the blown and inhaled notes in the order of ascending and descending the harmonica. [Background technology]

[0002] The harmonica is an instrument that requires a certain tuning. The conventional note arrangement of the harmonica is a compromise that severely restricts minor tonalities, as is known, for example, from reference DE20 2009 012 020U.

[0003] The standard harmonica tuning is known as the Richter harmonica. The Richter harmonica is a diatonic harmonica with "Richter tuning" and has 10 combs or blow holes. The arrangement of the tones in Richter tuning is based on the major scale, with some notes omitted and some duplicated in the lower octaves.

[0004] The Richter harmonica's range is well suited to simple songs, and there are playing techniques known as bending, overblowing, and overdrawing that allow you to reach all the missing semitones in the chromatic scale. By adjusting the oral cavity during playing, you can deviate from the actual tuning, changing the blown and drawn notes with each comb and altering the pitch. In this way, the blown reed plate can also be moved through the comb during breathing / inhalation (overdrawing). This can produce a pitch change of at least one semitone. Bending, in particular, allows you to produce more notes than those provided by the Richter tuning.

[0005] Bending is a very common playing technique among blues musicians because it not only allows for playing semitones using available notes, but also enables smooth transitions from tone to tone, playing with blues notes, and other special, sharp tones common in the blues. However, bending and overblowing are techniques that require skill to master, and these techniques also have certain limitations, which can be considered disadvantages. It is known from DE202007014926U1 that it is possible to provide a tonal arrangement that has been altered from Richter tuning while maintaining the simple structure of a diatonic harmonica with 10 combs. As a result, only the structure of the reed plates is altered, and the pitch of the notes remains unchanged. Here again, playing with blue notes is only possible through bending. [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a harmonica that is improved for playing blue note pitches. This objective is achieved by the technical matters of claim 1. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] This invention provides a harmonica that uses the notes of a minor blues scale, in which the blown and drawn notes of the instrument are arranged in a scale-conforming order and alternately occupy positions between the upper and lower rows. Unlike Richter tuning, there are no missing or overlapping notes, and octave notes are alternately assigned to the blown and drawn channels of the comb. Blue notes can therefore be played directly without the need for bending.

[0008] Furthermore, unlike the diatonic Richter harmonica which follows the concept of chords, the harmonica according to the present invention preferably plays one note at a time, and therefore has the concept of a tonal range specific to a multi-octave scale. According to the present invention, pitch changes in a minor blues scale are preferably made by generating ascending and descending scales of the core octave on three combs / channels. Adjacent octaves have the same or different structures.

[0009] Further advantages and configurations of the present invention are disclosed by the description and dependent claims set forth below. The present invention will be described in more detail based on exemplary embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the minor blues scale, with the notes of the scale numbered for easy understanding. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the assignment of combs 1 to 10 in the harmonica of the present invention. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the assignment of combs 1 to 10 to the C minor pentatonic minor blues scale in the harmonica of the present invention.

[0011] This invention relates to a pentatonic scale harmonica. In this regard, Figure 1 shows the pentatonic minor blues scale. The bottom box indicates the tonic. The boxes above indicate the individual notes of the scale, named according to their distance from the tonic. Thus, the scale is read in a zigzag pattern. The box above represents the same note as the tonic, but exactly one octave higher. The notes of the scale are named for their expressiveness. The designation of intervals or degrees of the scale associated with the numbering is shown in the legend.

[0012] A harmonica having a blues scale based on the minor pentatonic scale is composed by adding a semitone down fifth to the pentatonic scale of a minor key and includes at least 10 combs (blowholes), preferably 10 combs. According to the present invention, the at least 10 combs are tuned to the arrangement of the notes of the blues scale having a range of multiple octaves. The comb assignment of the blow channel and the suck channel is thus determined by the specific tonal arrangement of the notes of the minor blues scale. Three adjacent combs of at least one octave are, in ascending and descending modes, the blow notes (1), (4), (5) and the suck notes (3 b ), (5 b ), (7 b ) and are tuned to be.

[0013] In the harmonica of the present invention, adjacent octaves, for example in the higher octave, may preferably have the same structure. In the harmonica of the present invention, adjacent octaves can have different structures, for example octaves of different keys.

[0014] The harmonica of the present invention preferably has a range including 3 octaves. The exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2 shows a harmonica having a 3 - octave minor blues scale and has, for example, 10 combs. In addition to the said 3 octaves, according to the present invention, the first note of the fourth octave can also be played. Thus, 10 combs covering the sound over 3 octaves and the first note of the fourth octave are provided.

[0015] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary embodiment of the harmonica of the present invention, including three adjacent combs of at least one octave tuned to the blow notes c(1), f(4), g(5) of c minor and the suck notes e b (3 b ), g b , (5 b ), b b (7 b ). Preferably, two higher octaves of the same key are provided for tuning the comb. Tuning to other keys of the pentatonic minor blues scale may also be done.

[0016] A harmonica having 10 or more combs, for example, 12 combs, may be provided. Preferably, in this case, four octaves will be fully playable.

Claims

1. A blues scale harmonica based on a minor pentatonic scale constructed from a minor key pentatonic scale by adding a semitone lower fifth, comprising at least 10 combs tuned to the sound arrangement of a blues scale having a range of multiple octaves, wherein the assignment of the combs to the blowing channel and the draw channel is determined by the sound arrangement specific to the scale of the minor blues scale, for the purpose of which three adjacent combs in one octave are tuned to blowing notes (1), (4) and (5), and drawing notes (3b), (5b) and (7b), in accordance with the concept of a tonal range specific to a multi-octave scale of three octaves, and two higher octaves in the same key are provided for tuning the combs.

2. The harmonica according to claim 1, characterized in that at least three adjacent combs in one octave are tuned to the blow notes c(1), f(4), g(5) and the draw notes eb(3b), gb(5b), bb(7b) of C minor.

3. The harmonica according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is provided with 10 combs that cover sounds across three octaves and the first note of the fourth octave.

4. A harmonica according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it is provided with 12 combs that cover sounds across four octaves.

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