Maqamat on harmonica

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Revision as of 08:41, 5 June 2012 by Wikispaces>hstraub (**Imported revision 342761966 - Original comment: **)
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This is an imported revision from Wikispaces. The revision metadata is included below for reference:

This revision was by author hstraub and made on 2012-06-05 08:41:45 UTC.
The original revision id was 342761966.
The revision comment was:

The revision contents are below, presented both in the original Wikispaces Wikitext format, and in HTML exactly as Wikispaces rendered it.

Original Wikitext content:

[[media type="file" key="HarmonicaMaqamNairuz.mp3" width="240" height="20"]]
A Nairuz scale, a variant of maqam Rast, standard diatonic harmonica in C (amateurish attempt)

[[media type="file" key="HarmonicaBayati110815006.MP3" width="240" height="20"]]
A phrase in maqam Bayati, standard diatonic harmonica in Bb (amateurish attempt)

While standard harmonicas can play certain phrases in maqam Rast but not the full scale, harmonicas in [[http://www.hohnerusa.com/index.php?29|Steve Baker special tuning]] or in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=higvIZUKlJg|spanish tuning]] allow to play a full Rast scale, both ascending and descending (which is different!):

[[media type="file" key="HarmonicaSpaRast110913001.mp3" width="240" height="20"]]
A Rast scale (ascending and descending), harmonica in spanish tuning in C (amateurish attempt)

[[media type="file" key="HarmonicaSBSRast110922001.mp3" width="240" height="20"]]
A Rast scale (ascending and descending), harmonica in Steve Baker special tuning in F (amateurish attempt)

These points (and the fact that the instrument is small and cheap) make the harmonica a good candidate as a gateway to microtonal music.

BTW, in case so many amateurish attempts have made you sick and ready to dismiss the harmonica, here is an example of a master: [[http://straaten.com/|Roland van Straaten]], which is a pioneer in playing middle-eastern and indian music on the harmonica. A beautiful example (maqam Hijaz/Hijaz Kar - this one is not microtonal, though) can be listened to [[http://straaten.com/CoralLoveDance2.4MB.mp3|here]].

Original HTML content:

<html><head><title>maqamat on harmonica</title></head><body><!-- ws:start:WikiTextMediaRule:0:&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/file/HarmonicaMaqamNairuz.mp3?h=&amp;w=&quot; class=&quot;WikiMedia WikiMediaFile&quot; id=&quot;wikitext@@media@@type=&amp;quot;file&amp;quot; key=&amp;quot;HarmonicaMaqamNairuz.mp3&amp;quot; width=&amp;quot;240&amp;quot; height=&amp;quot;20&amp;quot;&quot; title=&quot;Local Media File&quot;height=&quot;20&quot; width=&quot;240&quot;/&gt; -->[ invalid file: HarmonicaMaqamNairuz.mp3 ] <!-- ws:end:WikiTextMediaRule:0 --><br />
A Nairuz scale, a variant of maqam Rast, standard diatonic harmonica in C (amateurish attempt)<br />
<br />
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A phrase in maqam Bayati, standard diatonic harmonica in Bb (amateurish attempt)<br />
<br />
While standard harmonicas can play certain phrases in maqam Rast but not the full scale, harmonicas in <a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://www.hohnerusa.com/index.php?29" rel="nofollow">Steve Baker special tuning</a> or in <a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=higvIZUKlJg" rel="nofollow">spanish tuning</a> allow to play a full Rast scale, both ascending and descending (which is different!):<br />
<br />
<!-- ws:start:WikiTextMediaRule:2:&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/file-audio/HarmonicaSpaRast110913001.mp3?h=20&amp;w=240&quot; class=&quot;WikiMedia WikiMediaFile&quot; id=&quot;wikitext@@media@@type=&amp;quot;file&amp;quot; key=&amp;quot;HarmonicaSpaRast110913001.mp3&amp;quot; width=&amp;quot;240&amp;quot; height=&amp;quot;20&amp;quot;&quot; title=&quot;Local Media File&quot;height=&quot;20&quot; width=&quot;240&quot;/&gt; --><embed src="/s/mediaplayer.swf" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" width="240" height="20" wmode="transparent" flashvars="file=http%253A%252F%252Fxenharmonic.wikispaces.com%252Ffile%252Fview%252FHarmonicaSpaRast110913001.mp3?file_extension=mp3&autostart=false&repeat=false&showdigits=true&showfsbutton=false&width=240&height=20"></embed><!-- ws:end:WikiTextMediaRule:2 --><br />
A Rast scale (ascending and descending), harmonica in spanish tuning in C (amateurish attempt)<br />
<br />
<!-- ws:start:WikiTextMediaRule:3:&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/file-audio/HarmonicaSBSRast110922001.mp3?h=20&amp;w=240&quot; class=&quot;WikiMedia WikiMediaFile&quot; id=&quot;wikitext@@media@@type=&amp;quot;file&amp;quot; key=&amp;quot;HarmonicaSBSRast110922001.mp3&amp;quot; width=&amp;quot;240&amp;quot; height=&amp;quot;20&amp;quot;&quot; title=&quot;Local Media File&quot;height=&quot;20&quot; width=&quot;240&quot;/&gt; --><embed src="/s/mediaplayer.swf" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" width="240" height="20" wmode="transparent" flashvars="file=http%253A%252F%252Fxenharmonic.wikispaces.com%252Ffile%252Fview%252FHarmonicaSBSRast110922001.mp3?file_extension=mp3&autostart=false&repeat=false&showdigits=true&showfsbutton=false&width=240&height=20"></embed><!-- ws:end:WikiTextMediaRule:3 --><br />
A Rast scale (ascending and descending), harmonica in Steve Baker special tuning in F (amateurish attempt)<br />
<br />
These points (and the fact that the instrument is small and cheap) make the harmonica a good candidate as a gateway to microtonal music.<br />
<br />
BTW, in case so many amateurish attempts have made you sick and ready to dismiss the harmonica, here is an example of a master: <a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://straaten.com/" rel="nofollow">Roland van Straaten</a>, which is a pioneer in playing middle-eastern and indian music on the harmonica. A beautiful example (maqam Hijaz/Hijaz Kar - this one is not microtonal, though) can be listened to <a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://straaten.com/CoralLoveDance2.4MB.mp3" rel="nofollow">here</a>.</body></html>