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THE JEPPS'HARP

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The Jepps'harp is a special custom tuning of an otherwise standard diatonic Richter-tuned Blues Harmonica, yet which grants unto the player an absolute labyrinth of extra chords & multi-key melodic phrases, deeper blues patterns, creative overtone harmonics and thus greatly augmented musical genres.

Historically it has been a mind-boggling puzzle how to increase the chordal & melodic capabilities of the Blues Harmonica without sacrificing the authentic original nature of the instrument.

This is because by merely changing ONE note/hole you can create a tidal wave of discord & disorder, in turn altering the entire function & nature of the Harmonica itself.

Today the Jepps'harp proclaims to have found the solution to such elusive anomalies, such as the missing 4th Chord in 1st position and the 2nd octave minor 3rd in cross position - & furthermore tremendously increasing its orchestral footprint.

This is all miraculously accomplished through what is essentially the altering of just one single hole - Hole 7. Here the draw/blow pattern is reversed and the 7th note of the Harmonica's key flattened.

This means for example, on a C-key harp, instead of drawing a B natural and blowing a C ~ Hole 7 becomes Blow Bb and Draw C.

These alterations to Hole 7 grant the player:

***ALL the Classic Blues Harp PLUS...

• A 1st position Blues 7th chord.
• A 2nd position Minor 3rd in the 2nd octave.
• A 1st position howling root key note bend.
• A 3rd position Minor 7th chord.
• A 12th position Blues scale & Major chord.
• A 1st position 3-chord circular Blues riff.
• A 3rd position 3-chord circular Reggae riff.
• *... and much more...!

The Jepps'harp is not for sale per se, since it is a stand alone Tuning Setup. However the Jepps'harp can be easily acquired through the Seydel Harp Configurator. Whence inputting values for different keys, Hole 7 should be made BLOW 7b & DRAW 8n. For example if choosing the traditional key of G, Hole 7 should be BLOW F & DRAW G.

Optional Valve Pair

A valve on Draws 5 & 6 allows for bending of Blows 5 & 6, which gives you the Minor 3rd in 1st position and the Major 7th in 2nd position.

Furthermore the Major 3rd & 5th pair of the 1st position Blues 7th chord (G7 on a G Jepps'harp) can be bent simultaneously!

Personally I am a die-hard authentic player and dislike much of a change to the original diatonic harp's construction ~ hence the Jepps'harp only changes 1 single hole at the top of the 2nd octave, preserving the entirety of the lower-half harp.

As such I neither would usually favour valves. Aside from the sentimentality aspect, they can 'stick' in some cases or change the 'feel' ~ but I guess not terribly so. Warming the harp up in your hands cures most valve ailments and is important anyway to prepare the reeds for playing.

So here we are. Yes, in my own personal case, I do have a reason for just at least TWO valves. For if there were one or two more notes I wish I had on a regular harp in addition to what I have curated with the Jepps'harp, it would be the Minor 3rd in Hole 5 & Major 7th in Hole 6. So a little secret to share, I do have TWO valves in the center of the Harp at Holes 5/6 ~ but no other valves or modifications.

Yet in a way I kind of like these two central valves as a standard Jepps'harp formation, not only for their remedial function, but because they remind me of the central black note pair on the Piano keyboard!

The Seydel Harp Configurator features options to include valves. Just check the boxes over both the 5 & 6 Draw notes to instruct valves on these chambers.

Summary

There are of course today many different tunings of Harmonica available on the market, each of which serve well the purpose for which they were designed.

However where the Jepps'harp proclaims to excel over all of these is in its universally integratable footprint, not only into the familiar realms of Blues or Rock 'n' Roll, but into Jazz, Folk, Reggae, Arabian, Egyptian, Indian and of course even Classical... and now absolutely for the first time ever... into the realms of transcendental meditation.

The Jepps'harp is fantastic for harmonic overtone meditation due to its uniquely dynamic upper register. Anyone who is familiar with Fujara or Shepherd's Overtone Flute will absolutely find themselves at peace with the endless cascading harmonies of the Jepps'harp.

It is for all these reasons and indeed the many more discoveries to come, that I proclaim the Jepps'harp to be the Harmonica of the future.

Thank you for reading.

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