Re: [Harp-L] Modified "Smo Joe" Tuning

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

The tuning that raises Draw 5 one semitone (aka Country tuning and a few other names) is usually used for second position, as it gives you a major scale in the second position key in the middle octave.

Howoever, it can also be used as what old-timers used to call a "stunt" tuning - a tuning to accomplish something that couldn't be done in standard tuning (leaving aside the possibilities of bending and overblowing, which belonged to a separate class of 'stunt" back then). Some tunes require the raised 4th degree of the scale in the middle octave. Someone already mentioned the Star Spangled Banner. Cham-Ber Huang used to tune harps this way to play Peg O' My Heart. Maybe there are other tunes that could also benefit from this tuning - anybody know of more to add to this list?

One thing that nobody except me seems to mention regarding Country tuning when used in second position: it also gives you al three major chords in second position as full three-note (or more) chords:

I chord: Draw 1-2-3-4

IV chord: All the blow notes

V chord: Draw 4-5-6 (plus notes that can be added with tongue splits, including Draw 1, 8 and 10)

Winslow

Winslow Yerxa

Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5

--- On Mon, 12/14/09, Paul Cantin <cantin46@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

From: Paul Cantin <cantin46@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Modified "Smo Joe" Tuning
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Monday, December 14, 2009, 1:25 PM

I just resurrected two harps from the junk heap by replacing a couple of reeds, and tuned the 5 draw up a half step
ala the  J,M,and Smo Joe tuning. Didn't bother raising  the 9 draw.

So, my question is, are these harps  more apt to be played in 1st or 2nd position? What type of song would they be used for?
 The two keys are  F and G.
Paul

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