Re: [Harp-L] country tuning songs -- Melody Maker

[Joseph Leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Oct 16, 2011, at 3:23 PM, John Kerkhoven wrote:

> I guess it depends on the songs. I retuned a harp to melody maker some years back, but never used it much and just blue-tacked the 3-blow back to its original tuning. It's nice to have the juicy bends on the 3-hole draw. I play a few Hank Williams tunes with a friend and it's nice for that.  

That's sort of the same experience I had John. When I came back to America, my old friends had started a doo-wop group. They needed a bass, and while I was closer to baritone, that was close enough. I would slip in runs in with the drums, lead guitar, bass guitar, vocals. With such a short group of instruments, any fill ins were good fill ins. lol. 

When I do the Hank tune 'Cold cold heart', I have a tendency to make the first 2 notes into 5 notes, Then the next 2 into another 5. (and so on). Now these weren't distinct notes.. They were actually one long slur. On the low couple reeds. I would slur up into the critical notes and then down the other sides. 
> 
> That same friend is a celtic musician who has taught me some of that repertoire. (Yes, Celtic and Hank go together.

I don't see why that wouldn't be true. Williams was, after all, I think he was Scotts/Irish decent. 

> He also occasionally performs with belly dancers -- bodhran and baladi !) On some celtic songs I use a Paddy-Richter harp in D. And there, as is well-known, the raised three-draw makes a difference.

Yup, yup. Bit it always messed me up, as I was used to bending the 4 bends. There's a tune T.D's Boogie, where several riffs are done with a: 
blow 3, then 3 stage draw bend, 2 stage draw bend, and then a natural draw. Then it goes into a blow 3, then a FOUR stage draw bend, 3 stage draw bend, and a natural draw. Then back to the first grouping. So I worked on it until I could get those bends. (It even cost me a harp). So, I got TOO used to the bends, and when I went to use some other tuning, I felt it wasn't worth the new amount of memorizing. I don't like to have to memorize, I like to go by feel.

When I was in the navy, I was a salvage diver. In that case bends were a NO NO. lolol  
> 
> So there are genre-specific reasons for one tuning over another (and Sr. Leone can say much more about CT/smokey-joe tuned harps than I can, like for jazz standards), but there's also a matter (seems to me) of what floats your boat.

Wow, I wholeheartedly agree. 
smo-joe
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> John
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> 
>> It's a great tuning. Probably? better. I tried it. But I was used to the A. :) 
>> 
>> On Oct 16, 2011, at 1:18 PM, philharpn@xxxxxxx wrote:
>> 
>>> With all the talk about country tuning (Draw 5 tuned up half step) or the double-country tuning with the F# added in two octaves:
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>>> What about using the Lee Oskar Melody Maker tuning that not only adds two F#s to the C harp in cross position(G) but changes the Blow 3 to an A, eliminating the need to bend to get that A note?
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