Re: [Harp-L] Best harmonica tuning to play "tunes and songs"

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Rick Dempster" wrote:
<I'm not discounting alternate tunings, but in gaining something, you always lose something, and, as far as this simple-minded player is concerned, you never get to be really conversant with one single tuning.   
<Best to stick with one tuning and improve you technique to overcome the limitations.

I couldn't agree less with the comments above.  

There's no way to "overcome" certain of "the limitations" of a given tuning.  You can of course spend 10-20 years learning advanced techniques so you can play whatever those techniques allow you to do, but you still won't be able to do a lot of things you could do on a different tuning.  For example, I offer my recording of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (which you can hear for free at http://www.hunterharp.com/all-hunters-downloads-in-one-place/).  The chords are not available on a richter-tuned harp, and no technique I know of will solve that problem. I repeat: there is NO technique that makes it possible to play that arrangement on a standard tuning. 

One of the best things any player can do for him or herself is to make it as easy as possible to get the sounds you want. Using different tunings is one way to make it easy on yourself.  Need to play in a minor key?  Use a minor tuned harp.  Easy.  It's hard enough to learn how to play the instrument.  Why make it harder?

The fact is that most of the pros I hear nowadays are using non-standard tunings, some of which (like Brendan Powers's "Power" tunings) are pretty radical compared to a natural minor (to take one example of an off-the-shelf variation on Richter tuning).  Why do the pros use non-standard tunings?  Because it's easy.  It's a LOT easier than trying to do everything with a single tuning.

By the way, somebody better call that guy Robert Johnson and tell him to stop tuning his guitar to an open G chord. He's a lot better off improving his technique to overcome his limitations.  Right?

Regards, Richard Hunter


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