Re: [Harp-L] Tony Eyers article on Country Tuning

[Joseph Leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Couldn't agree more. When I first tuned the #5 draw up one sharp back in 1960, I did it to be able to play doo-wop. It opened up a plethora of tunes that were otherwise not possible to get unless one resorted to MULTIPLE harps, over draws, and over blows. Charlie McCoy used to use 2 harps on Londonderry Aire (Oh Danny Boy), whereas I used just one. And since I could never depend on getting the proper timbre with over draws and over blows, I elected to re tune the reed OR use multiple harps instead. 

This was knowing that the #5 draw could STILL be bent down a flat when needed. The problem arose when doing something fast, and I didn't have enough time to get the bend  already IN spot on. So I don't carry a full set of doo-wop tuned harps. Just a couple. Then I also carried a full set of Richters. But at the club, we do mostly dance music and jazz, so the doo-wop harps and chromos get the majority of the work. 

And since I was never one to dabble in all the possible positions, I never actually studied to see exactly WHAT other positions could be played on a harp with the #5 draw raised.
But it isn't too friendly to first and third positions. Where the natural (unaltered) # 5 reed fits the music better. 

smokey joe & the cafes 

On Sep 19, 2015, at 9:38 PM, Rick Dempster wrote:

> Lousy for first position though Tony.
> RD
> 
> On 19 September 2015 at 20:18, Tony Eyers <tony@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
>> A while back I wrote a article on country tuning for "Harmonica World"
>> magazine. You can see it at
>> http://harmonicatunes.com/country-harmonica-tuning/
>> 
>> Country tuning underpins Charlie McCoy's style, and is the easiest path
>> into alternate harmonica tunings. At the very least, it's worth knowing
>> what a country tuned harmonica does, and how it avoids traps which standard
>> Richter tuned instruments can lead the unwary into.
>> 
>> Tony Eyers
>> Australia
>> www.HarmonicaAcademy.com
>> ...everyone plays
>>