[Harp-L] Re: Positions and Tunings from the beginning

["Rick Dempster" <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I play steel guitar as well as harp, non-pedal (haven't got as far as pedals yet, and may never)
I play three tunings more or less with equal proficiency, and use a couple more at times.
With diatonic harp, I use only Richter, but have messed with melodic & harmonic minors and the raised draw 5 tuning.
I think that part of this is simply because the steel has commonly used various tunings for as long as it's been around (a little less than harp)
so it makes sense to adopt the tuning of whatever you want to learn from, whether it be 1920s Sol Hoopii (A High Bass) 30's Hoopii (C# minor)
post WWII Jerry Byrd (most commonly C6th) 40s western swing (usually A6th) etc. etc.
But with harp, there is a smorgasbord of playing styles, and 99.99999% of it is on Richter.
Also, most players, I think, would be jamming away in a blues outfit, and not necessarily trying to play specific tunes.
I would rather know one tuning well, rather than several superficially.
Having said that, with my steel guitar experience, I know that it is better sometimes, to adopt a different tuning than
break your neck trying to do something really difficult technique-wise on your usual tuning.
RD





>>> dmf 273 <dmf273@xxxxxxxxx> 25/05/2011 15:20 >>>
And now that I'm suitably chagrined and humbled, (Sorry again JP!)  let me
offer an answer to the ORIGINAL poster, the Duke of Wail.

In my humble opinion,  diatonic altered tunings shouldn't be studied until
the student is at a level where he is discovering the limitations of Richter
or he has begun to recognize his own limitations butting up against the
Richter layout.   When he starts to say "There must be an easier way to play
this",  that's a good time to begin investigating altered tunings.