Re: [Harp-L] what position/tuning to play this song

[Eric Miller <miller.eric.t@xxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks Richard.  I actually am a huge fan of special tunings, play mostly
brendan's power tunings.  Figured out how to solder re-tune this summer on
some old harps (and thanks to Richard Sleigh's kit + guidance),  now I can
re-tune my retail richters to powerdraw without having to pay a bunch of
$$$ for good powerdraw harps.

I don't mind retuning, but yes I would prefer to avoid it unless I'm going
to really dive into a tuning.  I'm still developing my technique with
powerdraw.

Thank you so much for your wisdom and guidance, sir.


On Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 5:54 AM, Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> Eric Miller wrote:
> <can I get maj6/min6 in 3rd position without special tuning?  E.G. like you
> <can get maj/minor 3rd in 2nd position?
>
> In the bottom octave, a half step bend on the draw 3 reed will give you
> the minor 6th.  In the middle octave, you can only get the minor 6th with
> an overblow on the 6th hole.
>
> If you tune the draw 7 reed down 1/2 step, you'll have the minor 6th
> built-in, and you can blow-bend the blow 7 reed down a half step to give
> you the major 6th.
>
> If you use a natural minor harp in 2nd position, the minor 6th is built-in
> (as the blow 2-5-8 reeds), and you can get the major 6th by bending the
> draw 2 reed down in the first octave 3 half steps), and the draw 5 reed in
> the second octave (one half step).
>
> I know you said "without special tuning", but the fact is that
> non-standard-Richter tuning is the easiest way to get some pitches.  If
> you're planning to use those pitches in a chord, it might be the only way.
>  I wouldn't avoid "special" tunings on the harmonica.  They seem to work
> pretty well for Brendan Power, Steve Baker, Rick Epping, and me, to name a
> few.
>
> Regards, Richard Hunter
>
> author, "Jazz Harp" (Oak Publications, NYC)
> Latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://hunterharp.com
> Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
> Twitter: lightninrick
>