Richter Tuning, Not System.
Joelhooks:
Hi all,
I've been a fan of David's work on harmonica history for a while. The civil war harmonica stories never quite sat with me.
I have seen ads like this one from the NY Post, March 6, 1850 showing harmonicas but I don't know what exactly that is.
My main question is concerning "Richter" harmonicas. This seems to refer to two different things. From most harmonica "histories" I have read, the defining point in mouth blown free-reed instruments was the configuration of blow/draw- and thus the "Richter System" harmonica.
Then there is "Richter tuning." The note configuration of richter tuning (chords- scale- scale absent the 7th). I speculate that this is what is meant in late 19th-early 20th century catalog listings as "Richter models" or "Genuine Richter."
That is the Richter that I am interested in. I've read in various places, including the books published by the Trossingen museum that 1879 was the year that Richter tuning was introduced.
If that were the case, the point could be made that no soldier on either side of the ACW would have had a harmonica in the form known today. As such no reenactor has likely ever had a proper harmonica.
Has this year of 1879 been substantiated by research? Does more work need to be done? Does anyone care but me?
There is also the lack of instruction books from the 1870-1920 era. Ryan's True Harmonica Instructor looks to be the only one of value. I am working with this one and hope to share a full write up on it. It is possible that the method of performance is so obvious that one did not need instruction. The goal of Ryan's being to extend the harmonica from an "ear" instrument to notation- a common practice in the 1870s-1900.
What connection does the Richter tuning have to the early accordion? It seems to me that the configuration is a miniaturized version of the very popular (at that time) 10 button/ two bass accordion.
The Richter played as self evident gives an exact imitation of the button accordion.
john_broecker:
Hello, Joel Hooks.
Here are a few answers to some of your questions about the Richter system and/or Richter tuning.
The Richter System is a standard system of reed placement on a harmonica.
I don't know if there is a Richter Tuning.
Harmonica tuning involves pitch adjustment of an individual reed, or in chords, to make the overall sound more or less pleasant to the human ear. As far as I know, there is no "Richter Tuning". The standard tuning systems used on most diatonic harmonicas are of 3 types, just intonation, equal temperament or compromise.
You may have read the book by Lars Lindenmuller and Martin Haffner, "Harmonica Makers of Germany & Austria," published by the Deutsches Harmonika Museum in Trossingen, Germany. In the book, pages 131-132, the authors suggest that it may have been 1857 or 1858 as the introduction of the Richter System, possibly by the Joseph Richter harmonica company of Haida(u), Czechoslovakia, today's Novy Bor,Czech Republic.
In a book published by the Deutsches Harmonika Museum, "20 Years, German Harmonica and Accordion Museum," by Museum Director Mr. Martin Haffner, he writes on page 29 that the Richter System was introduced in 1857.
The date 1879 is important for the creation of the "Vienna system" double reed tremolo tuning, credited to the Wilhelm Thie harmonica company of Vienna, Austria. The date is a guess, but not the company.
Two other reed placement systems were in use before 1858: the solo system and the glissando system. Both systems are standard today, in select harmonicas.
In his words, Joseph Richter has stated that he created the Richter system after touring an accordion factory. He got the reed placement idea from the reed placements used on accordions. The accordion was patented in Vienna, Austria, by Cyrill Demian, in 1829, and factories were created after that date.
Best Regards
John Broecker
friedharper:
Hello Joel and John,
One of the first people to patent a harmonica which possessed most of the characteristics of the present-day harmonica was Friedrich Buschmann. One of his first efforts, "the aura", was four inches long and had 15 steel reeds mounted side by side. It only had blow reeds, perhaps intended merely as an aid to tuning, rather than as a musical instrument.
Because the notes on the Buschmann harmonica were ordered chromatically, like the keys on a piano and only sounded by blowing, the instrument was difficult to play and not suited to the folk music of the day.
Herr Richter added draw notes "the Richter system", this new system also came with a new tuning "The Richter Tuning". So, when we use the term "Richter System", strictly speaking we are describing the physical construction of the instrument, rather than the arrangement of notes. The Richter System harmonica has a comb sandwiched between two reedplates, the upper one with the blow reeds and the lower one with the draw reeds. Each chamber in the comb leads to a pair of reeds, one blow and one draw, with a single reed being sounded for each note of the scale.
"The Richter Tuning", which was already used for accordions, uses only notes belonging to one major scale. A C harmonica only uses the notes from C major and they're ordered so that they create a tonic chord (C major on a harp in C), when blown it also produces a dominant 7th chord (G7 on a harp in C) when drawn. Making it an ideal instrument for simple 2 chord folksongs. It contained no notes which could sound wrong. Round the same period other tunings we're created such as the Viennese octave and tremolo harmonicas, the Knittlinger octave harmonicas and others.
The Richter Tuning is the most common used tuning but some 10 hole harmonica's are tuned differently. Lee Oskar harmonicas were the first to really promote different tuned harmonica's.
Altered tuned harmonica's sound very different from the standard Richter tuning which is the mostly used tuning. Certain reeds have been changed or re-tuned to create an altered tuning providing different sounds and different scales. (Solo Tuned, Harmonic Minor, Natural Minor, Melody Maker harps, Paddy Richter, Country or Major 7th, Whole Tone, the list goes on and on.) Some players use a lot of altered tuned harmonicas, myself I've made a Oriental sounded tuning so you can play a 2 Phrigian scale without bending (D,Eb,F,G,A,Bb,C,D).
The 3 types of tuning : just intonation, equal temperament or compromise, have nothing to do with the layout of the harmonica but how single notes, intervals or the chords sound. In the old days all the harps were tuned to just intonation giving it a smooth chord but some single notes may sound sharp. The equal temperament tuning has smooth sounding single notes but rough sounding chords and perfectly piched octaves, making it ideal for today's popmusic.
more info : go to www.patmissin.com , home of harmonica player, teacher, technician and historian Pat Missin, bringing you a whole heap of information about the harmonica and related musical instruments.
All the best,
Steven troch
Belgian harmonicaplayer and teacher
The Richter Tuning is the most common used tuning but some 10 hole harmonica's are tuned differently. Lee Oskar harmonicas were the first to really promote different tuned harmonica's.
Altered tuned harmonica's sound very different from the standard Richter tuning which is the mostly used tuning. Certain reeds have been changed or re-tuned to create an altered tuning providing different sounds and different scales. (Solo Tuned, Harmonic Minor, Natural Minor, Melody Maker harps, Paddy Richter, Country or Major 7th, Whole Tone, the list goes on and on.) Some players use a lot of altered tuned harmonicas, myself I've made a Oriental sounded tuning so you can play a 2 Phrigian scale without bending (D,Eb,F,G,A,Bb,C,D).
The 3 types of tuning : just intonation, equal temperament or compromise, have nothing to do with the layout of the harmonica but how the intervals or the chords sound. In the old days all the harps were tuned to just intonation giving it a smooth chord but some single notes may sound sharp. The equal
elkriverharmonicas:
Didn't the American James Bazin's harmonica have blow and draw notes in the 1830s?
john_broecker:
Hello, harmonica friends.
The following facts were found in a 7-year research of 100s of sources, that has resulted in a harmonica history book.
The known harmonicas of James Amireaux Bazin (1798-1883), of Canton, Massachusetts, USA, were exhale harps.
All new reed placements after the patented "Aura" (1821) of Christian Friedrich Buschmann (1805-1864) may be considered alternate tunings, at their introduction.
The Buschmann patent is the first known patent for what is today called a harmonica, but the evidence is only hearsay. There was a fire in the German patent office in Berlin, in 1836, that destroyed patent records.
The Aura, in Buschmann's words, was "4 inches diameter, equally high, 21 notes with piano and crescendo playing...with harmonies of 6 notes." It was reputed to have steel reeds, placed chromatically, C,C# D,D# etc.,in a horizontal row, as today's Hohner #263 Chromatica glissando harp. It's unknown if the Aura was only a reed plate with reeds, or a set of tubular pitch pipes,but the pitch pipe theory is most popular. The Buschmann reed placement is known today as the glissando system. It was an exhale only harp.
Thanks for the definition of "Richter Tuning." It seems logical that a Richter tuned harp is diatonic, but how can we describe the Knittlinger system of Ignatz Hotz (Knittlingen, Germany, 1825?)? The Knittlinger system is also diatonic, as are the most popular Vienna system (tremolo and octave) harps.
The difference in the types of standard harps is not tuning, but reed placement.
Alternate "tunings" (what I would call reed placements)have been introduced by manufacturers as early as 1830.In the harmonica instruction book, "Instructions for the German Aeolian, or Mouth
Harmonica", by Von Kleber, published in London by J.Walton & Sons (circa 1830), several alternate tunings were displayed, including chord aeolians, glissando aeolians, diatonic aeolians.
By the 1880s, major harmonica manufacturers were offereing alternate tunings and many keys
with their harmonica models, mostly major and minor keys.
Best Regards
John Broecker
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