Re: [Harp-L] Melody Maker Tuning

["John Kerkhoven" <solo_danswer@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jazmaan,

I presume you posted in response to my post about the Melody Maker tuning.

With a little web research I discovered that you have experimented quite
liberally with Melody Maker tuning applied to the XB-40. See, for example:
http://www.angelfire.com/music/harmonica/xb40_altered_tunings.html

Just for context, I had never tried a Melody Maker, and decided, after
hearing Lee Oskar on a web broadcast (a link supplied on this list no
doubt), that I would like to try this. I had an old Special 20 lying around
that needed repair and since working on harps is something else I'm
learning, I decided to go for it. So I built myself a new harp in a tuning
that I had not yet tried and discovered a new variation on the harp. A very
pleasant discovery. So when I recommended checking out this tuning for
anyone who hadn't yet, that's the background to it.

For the record, there are both limitations and compensations to the Melody
Maker tuning.

Third step draw at 3 can be substituted with an overblow at 2.

There is no need for an overblow at 5 any more. The usual overblow at 5 is
now the note for the draw reed and it can now be bent down a half step.

Yes, as you point out, there is a loss at the upper end.

Chords: you get (on a C harp) the Amin chord on the bottom end blow to
complement the Gmaj on the draw. This is nice.

I have also been to your own website, and my next recommendation for anyone
interested in this subject is to go there: http://www.bebopradio.com/ and to
be sure to check out "Easy Blues" at the bottom of the page. Very cool.

As usual, there are only more roads to travel....

Cheers,

John



> The biggest problem with the Melody Maker tuning is the loss of
bendability at 9 blow and reduced
> bendability at 3 draw.
>
> Those problems disappear with the XB-Melody.
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