Diatonic Tunings

There are an unlimited number of ways to tune a 10 hole diatonic harp. The standard is RICHTER TUNING,
but alternate ones can give advantages for certain music styles (eg. Irish, Country, or Jazz).
Below are some of the more commonly-used alternate tunings. I use all my own tunings, and
include one here that has become popular: Paddy Richter. I will be releasing a book/CD on them, hopefully in 2009.

All tunings shown are based on C, but can be made in all 12 keys.
Blow notes are on the left, Draw notes on the right. Numbers refer to breath holes.
The players' names listed are not necessarily the inventors of the tuning, but the first to have recorded extensively with them.

TUNING	FEATURES	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
RICHTER	The standard harp tuning, on 99% of stock harps. The most common tuning for Blues players. Most recordings to date use Richter Tuning.	C D	E G	G B	C D	E F	G A	C B	E D	G F	C A
SOLO	Exactly the same as used on a 10 hole Chromatic. Good for melodic playing. Valves recommended.	C D	E F	G A	C B	C D	E F	G A	C B	C D	E F
COUNTRY Charlie McCoy	5 hole draw raised a semitone, now bendable. Allows Cross Harp with a Maj 7th scale. Easier to play in other major and minor keys.	C D	E G	G B	C D	E F#	G A	C B	E D	G F	C A
MELODY MAKER TM Lee Oskar	3 hole blow up a tone, 5 draw up a semitone. Easier Cross Harp melody playing, and other keys.	C D	E G	A B	C D	E F#	G A	C B	E D	G F#	C A
RICHTER EXTENDED Richard Sleigh	Ist Octave pattern is repeated throughout the harp. Very expressive, simple to learn, lots of draw bends. Nice for chords, easy octaves, soulful.	C D	E G	G B	C D	E G	G B	C D	E G	G B	C D
NATURAL MINOR	Good for regular minor tunes in 1st or 2nd position. Nice for minor chord vamping.	C D	Eb G	G Bb	C D	Eb F	G A	C Bb	Eb D	G F	C A
HARMONIC MINOR	Good for more exotic major and minor tunes, such as East European, Arabic and Indian music.	C D	Eb G	G B	C D	Eb F	G Ab	C B	Eb D	G F	C Ab
AUGMENTED Eric Chafer	Full Chromatic scales using draw bends. Expressive, all 12 keys using 4 breath patterns. However, needs good pitch control on bent notes.	C Eb	E G	G# B	C Eb	E G	G# B	C Eb	E G	G# B	C D
DIMINISHED	Full Chromatic scales using draw bends alone. Very expressive, semitone bends in every hole. Easy to play in all 12 keys (only 3 patterns to learn!).	Eb F	F#G#	A B	C D	Eb F	F#G#	A B	C D	Eb F	F#G#
PADDY RICHTER Brendan Power	3 Hole blow is raised by a tone. Makes 1st, 3rd and 4th position melodies easier in low octave. Good for Irish and other fast dance music.	C D	E G	A B	C D	E F	G A	C B	E D	G F	C A

These are only a few of the infinite possibilities for the 10 hole diatonic. You can see others on Pat Missin's excellent website.