[Harp-L] Straight natural minor

[John Kerkhoven]

Aha. Thanks Gary. I was aware that Suzuki minor-key tremolo harps are in
first pos. Interesting that their diatonics are too.

On Sun, Jan 5, 2025 at 3:55 PM Gary Lehmann <gnarlyheman at xxxxx> wrote:

> That is the natural minor tuning that Suzuki uses--so you can buy them
> stock.
> Just FYI, I used to retune them for folks who acquired them without
> knowing they were different.
> Gary
>
> On Sat, Jan 4, 2025 at 10:32 PM John Kerkhoven <soulodancer at xxxxx>
> wrote:
>
>> Yes, Gary, that is correct.
>>
>> John
>>
>> On Sat, Jan 4, 2025 at 8:43 PM Gary Lehmann <gnarlyheman at xxxxx>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> So is this a natural minor with a flat 6 on draw 6 and 10 (a half step
>>> lower than normal)?
>>> TIA
>>> Gary
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>> > On Jan 4, 2025, at 9:17 AM, John Kerkhoven <soulodancer at xxxxx>
>>> wrote:
>>> >
>>> > I made myself a first position Am harp to play the Reel Béatrice, a
>>> > traditional Québécois reel. Here's the result:
>>> > https://www.facebook.com/john.kerkhoven.3/videos/1322198198783760
>>> >
>>> > Harmonic minor harps are laid out in first position, but natural minor
>>> > harps sold off the shelf are  cross harp instruments, which is to say
>>> that
>>> > the natural minor finds its root on the 2-draw and 6-blow.
>>> >
>>> > The Reel Béatrice is a reel in three parts, the first two of which are
>>> in
>>> > Am. I worked at it on a C major harp, G major and LO Am. Though
>>> leaning to
>>> > the G major, third position, I wasn't altogether happy with the
>>> results. I
>>> > found Bruno Kowalczyk's version of this tune on YouTube, which he
>>> plays on
>>> > a Lee Oskar Dm which he modified to play Am in first position. So I'm
>>> not
>>> > claiming to have made any sort of breakthrough discovery here, only to
>>> say
>>> > that for some purposes, such as traditional music, a minor harp in
>>> first
>>> > position can be a lot of fun.
>>> >
>>> > Happy New Year!
>>> >
>>> > John
>>>
>>