Re: [Harp-L] country tuning songs -- Melody Maker

[George Miklas <harmonicat@xxxxxxxxx>]

I agree--> I have been working a lot with Smokey Joe's Country Tuning, and
some Lee Oskar Melody Makers.  I have found that the raised blow in the 3rd
hole (on the Melody Maker) is more of a problem for me than a benefit.  Plus
I agree with John Kerkhoven, it is nice to have juicy draw bends on hole 3.
  Now on the other hand, I have placed wind savers on the the draw reeds in
holes 1-6 and am able to play some very nice chromatic passages with the
blow bends in the middle and lower holes.  So right now I am gathering harps
to rebuild, to tune up a set of harps with the raised 4th scale degree (draw
reed in both holes 5 and 9), and the addition of wind savers on the draw
reeds in holes 1-6.

Hank Williams--> As a matter of fact, I have been working out a medley of
Hank songs using the Smokey Joe Country Tuning playing (C harp / G 2nd
position) in a neck rack and strumming my electric baritone ukulele.  Its
nice... I can get real nice chromatic passages not otherwise attainable on a
standard tuned diatonic harp.

George



On Sun, Oct 16, 2011 at 3:23 PM, John Kerkhoven
<solo_danswer@xxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> I guess it depends on the songs. I retuned a harp to melody maker some
> years back, but never used it much and just blue-tacked the 3-blow back to
> its original tuning. It's nice to have the juicy bends on the 3-hole draw. I
> play a few Hank Williams tunes with a friend and it's nice for that.
>
> That same friend is a celtic musician who has taught me some of that
> repertoire. (Yes, Celtic and Hank go together. He also occasionally performs
> with belly dancers -- bodhran and baladi !) On some celtic songs I use a
> Paddy-Richter harp in D. And there, as is well-known, the raised three-draw
> makes a difference.
>
> So there are genre-specific reasons for one tuning over another (and Sr.
> Leone can say much more about CT/smokey-joe tuned harps than I can, like for
> jazz standards), but there's also a matter (seems to me) of what floats your
> boat.
>
> John
>
>
> > It's a great tuning. Probably? better. I tried it. But I was used to the
> A. :)
> >
> > On Oct 16, 2011, at 1:18 PM, philharpn@xxxxxxx wrote:
> >
> >> With all the talk about country tuning (Draw 5 tuned up half step) or
> the double-country tuning with the F# added in two octaves:
> >>
> >>
> >> What about using the Lee Oskar Melody Maker tuning that not only adds
> two F#s to the C harp in cross position(G) but changes the Blow 3 to an A,
> eliminating the need to bend to get that A note?
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
>
>
>