Re: [Harp-L] Four key tuning

[Roger Myerson <rmyerson@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have been playing fourkey tuning for several years now.  It is great 
for many kinds of music, and Joe certainly has proven that the blues can 
be played very well on a fourkey.  In third and eighth positions you 
have a minor pentatonic scale with no change of breath direction, which 
can be great for the blues.  I personally am working now on a version of 
Little Walter's Juke for the fourkey, where I play it in third position 
(key of E on a D fourkey).  Of course if you want to sound as much as 
possible like Little Walter (a high and difficult goal), then you must 
play it on a standard harmonica like he used!  But if you want to play 
great blues tunes and make good music, and perhaps even add an 
interesting new variation on a classic blues piece, you can do it on a 
fourkey.
This is a good time to try fourkey tuning now that Seydel offers it in 
12-hole harps in a wide range of keys.  For more information see
http://4keyharps.wordpress.com/
-Roger

On 9/25/2013 8:34 PM, harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 19:51:43 -0700
> From: Gary Lehmann<gnarlyheman@xxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Four key tuning
> To: Edward J Hart<hooligan6a@xxxxxx>
> Cc:"harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx"  <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Message-ID:
> 	<CABi=NcQ-YJOgoiaw-=jdZOtcBu_nYS2-f1bgfAMJJx1QL1GGng@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> I have dabbled with this tuning for a couple of years, so I know something
> about it. Five holes per octave, tuned to two pentatonic scales (I tune
> mine to F6/9 blow, E6/9 draw, it can be bluesy if you valve it (I don't).
> It (the tuning) has similarities to Melody Maker/Major Cross/Power
> Chromatic. I played guitar for Joe Filisko at SPAH as he demonstrated a
> blues to a small group using this tuning! Jazmaan (David Fairweather) has
> put a lot of time into learning this tuning, and does quite well with it
> (we dreamed up a slide version on SlideMeister, and he took me seriously
> LOL)
> Gnarly
> PS I have some videos about this tuning . . .
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHtjfzAXt6M
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgcY0LYZhfk
> And some others too!
> G
>
>
> On Mon, Sep 23, 2013 at 2:19 PM, Edward J Hart<hooligan6a@xxxxxx>  wrote:
>
> > >I just heard about the Newton Four Key tuning. It sounds interesting. i
> > >don't think it will be good for blues but you can play a chromatic scale
> > >with only two draw bends. i know,  someone is going to say, get a
> > >chromatic. Problem is, you can't slip a chromatic into your pocket. Is
> > >anyone on the list playing this tuning now?
> > >

--
Roger B. Myerson, Glen A. Lloyd Distinguished Service Professor
Department of Economics, University of Chicago
1126 East 59th Street, Chicago, IL 60637
Phone: 773-834-9071, Fax: 773-702-8490
http://home.uchicago.edu/~rmyerson/