Re: [Harp-L] Subject: Donald Black Highlander tuning for for Scottish fiddle tunes

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Donald Black's Highlander tuning is based on  the Hohner Echo double-sided tremolo harp, with an A harmonica on one side and a D-harp on the other.

The alteration to the tuning is that on the A side, all the G# notes are lowered to G natural.

This lets him play both A Major and G Major chords; a lot of Scottish tunes in A will use A and G chords. It also gives him the A Mixolydian scale in first position. He finds this combination of scale and chords useful for playing pipe (i.e., highland bagpipe) tunes, hence the "Highlander" name. It also gives you E minor chord and Dorian scale in second position, and B minor chord and Aeolian scale in third position. 

The D side of the harp is not changed. You get D, A7, and E minor 6 chords, and you have the D major, A mixolydian, and E dorian scales in first, second, and third positions. 

Winslow

Winslow Yerxa

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