I suppose the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" rule applies but I can well
see the point if, due to a disability, one needed something away from the
norm (anyone invented an electric pump to fill the bag yet, I'm finding
pumping the bellows a hard task these days - lol). Although not a
"disability", I do remember my old friend the late Pete Rowley making
himself a left handed set of pipes some years ago so adapting is possible.
As said, most keys have been added to increase the notes available from
something that uses fingers to cover holes so maybe a redesign isn't that
daft a suggestion as the origins of most wind instruments are very ancient.
The melodica? I class mine as keyboard rather than wind (otherwise where do
we place a church organ or a harmonium - my harmonium had reeds like a
concertina - oh, is that a wind instrument as well?). Slippery slope here.
Really interesting discussion though.
Colin Hill
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard York" <rich...@lizards.force9.co.uk>
To: "NSP group" <nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2011 11:34 AM
Subject: [NSP] Re: Has there ever been an NSP with _all_ keys (no open
holes)?
And given that an instrument's design is (literally) instrumental in
shaping its own repertoire, would it even be at all appropriate to do so?
Best wishes,
Richard.
On 23/03/2011 11:15, Dru Brooke-Taylor wrote:
I've a recollection that adding all the keys to woodwind instruments
wasn't just about being able to add extra notes, but because some notes
can fit better with a fully chromatic scale if the holes are all
different sizes, including some that are too big for fingers to cover.
There's an article about it here,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boehm_System
Would this give us any benefits? Even if it would, it sounds as though it
would require a complete redesign of the chanter as well.
Dru
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