[Harp-L] Re: Blazing fast country chops



Ed asked:
 Should the harp be country tuned? Is that a given on country songs?
("not" a Lee Oscar country tuned MM). But the usual 10 hole Hohner harps.
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Hi Ed,
The only difference between Hohner's "country tuned" diatonic and their standard (Richter tuned) model, is that hole #5 draw is tuned one-half-step sharper on the "country tuned" model. This enables a player to hit the major-seventh of the scale when playing in second (or cross) position. (On a standard harp, that note would require an overblow.)


While these harps can be quite handy for certain melodies (I once had to use one to play "Shenandoah" with the Oklahoma Symphony,) in my humble opinion the term "country tuned" is something of a misnomer and no more than a handy marketing term. (With Huang harps, the exact same tuning is called "Jazz tuning," an equally meaningless term.)

Most country songs do not use (nor necessitate the use of) this configuration, unless a player wants to play cross and is required to play a melody line or tune that includes a major-seventh -- a situation that could occur in *any* sort of music, not only "country." Nearly all the country songs I can think of that utilize harmonica simply use standard (Richter) tuning, and usually are played either in second or first position(s). There are exceptions of course, but for the most part, country players don't play country tuned harps much a'tall.

cheers to all,
Tom Ball




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