Bob -
Welcome aboard! There are a number of people on here who can
tell you all about altered tunings; I imagine Steve Shaw and/
or Winslow Yerxa will have some solid info. for you in relation
to altered tunings and Celtic (sorry Steve!) tunes; Winslow
plays a lot of Scottish, I believe. But before they get you
filing and tinkering, I'll just point out that many pipe tunes
can be played with standard diatonic tuning. The trick is
finding the right "position". A tune in a conventional major
key can be played in "first position" ("straight"), usually; in
other words, an A major tune can be played on an A harp. Of
course, pipe tunes are usually not in conventional majors, so
try "second position" ("cross") or "third position" (does
anyone other than me call this "slant"?) Second position would
be using a D harp to play in A; third position is using a G harp
to play in A. As examples, Devil in the Kitchen and Mr John
Stewart of Grantully can be played in second pos. Bung Your Eye
can be played in third. Crossing the Minch can be played in First.
I mainly use a G harp, by the way, although I often use a low-F
for pipe tunes, because much of the playing seems to be on the
high end of the instrument. But G is good to start with. I think
you'll find the C a little high-pitched. If you're thinking of
playing with others, you'll want a low-D and, particularly for
Scottish, an A, that being the Scottish fiddlers' key of choice.
- thurg