[Harp-L] Re: tuning

["steve@xxxxxxxxxxxx" <swebb@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I am playing harp with a guitar player who decided to capo the first fret and then play in C, which  means I need an F sharp harp if I want second position. I ordered a Huang, figuring a cheap harp for the 2or 3 songs he sings this way. Well, I got a low F sharp Huang and it sucked. I mean, low harps take enough wind as it is, then add a leaky one and it was barely playable. I spent some time gapping and embossing and it was still only nominally useable. So I got to thinking.. I found an old Big River F harp that I hadn't played in years and spent Friday afternoon retuning all the reeds to make it an F sharp.  Played at a party Friday night and it worked pretty good. I'm still going to order a high F sharp Special 20, though, just so I have choices.   I have in the past retuned 3 blow on a C harp so no bend was needed for the A note. I think I will experiment a little more with some tunings for fiddle tunes. 
Steve Webb
a fool for the harp in Minnesota

---- "Dave Payne Sr." <payneoutdoors@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: 
> "Do you mean A minor in the Lee Oskar convention or the Hohner version? If you mean like the LO NM then use a normal D and retune the C# draws down to C and F#'s down to F. If you mean Hohner convention then I believe it's an A major, retune the draw G#'s down to G and the blow C#'s down to C. It's not a whole lot of work with brass reeds. It might not be fun with the stainless reeds of an 1847. "
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>   I'm only retuning one reed. The A minor scale is already there, I'm just giving the harp an anchor for the Am scale, a "Do" it didn't have.
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> Dave Payne Sr. 
> Maker of the Elk River Special Harmonica
> Harmonicas and Harmonica lessons
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