[Harp-L] Re: Harp-L] Minor keys and tunings

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Ian Chadwick" wrote:

<I've purchased a couple of Lee Oskar minor keys - Am natural and Gm
<harmonic. Very intriguing sounds, and very different tunings. Reminds <me a
<bit of Parisian accordion sounds. Edith Piaf.
<Can anyone recommend some music that might suit these tunings? Are 
<there any
<recordings using minor keys worth noting?
<If you play them, which minor keys would you recommend as being most 
<useful?
<And do you prefer natural or harmonic tuning?

I have recorded a lot of material on the natural minor, both solo 
acoustic and electric in various styles.  You can hear a number of 
examples at http://broadjam.com/rhunter.  "Widow's Walk" is solo 
acoustic in first and second position.  Check out "When Johnny Comes 
Marching Home"--1st position on a natural minor.  That's music that 
suits the tuning for sure--the chords in 1st position on that harp are 
very powerful.

I recommend that you get minor keys in the keys your accompanists like 
to play in.  If you're accompanied by horns, those are probably flat 
keys like F or Bb.  If you're accompanied by guitar, it's probably keys 
like D, G, A, or E.  Remember that the Lee Oskar natural minors are 
named for the key in 2nd position.  So a D natural minor is the 
equivalent of a standard G harp--both play in D in 2nd position.

Natural minors are lots better than harmonica minors.  Harmonic minors 
aren't very useful--it'll be remarkable if you use it on more than two 
tunes in your repertoire.  I only use it on one.  Natural minors sound 
great on everything, in first or second position.  I use them on lots of 
pieces, including blues.

Regards, Richard Hunter
hunterharp.com
harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
Latest mp3s always at http://broadjam.com/rhunter