Brendan Power & Alternative Harmonicas Forum

NAME: “FiG DoC” Neck Rack Tuning for 10-hole harp


BASIC CONCEPT:
This tuning is designed especially for folks who play harp in a neck rack. There are four FAT chordal zones, one each for the bVII (in this case, F), I (G), V (D) and IV (C) chords--and also their b7ths! As far as chord-chugging goes, this tuning should be very forgiving of imprecise playing technique. The red brackets show where one draw note of the minor hexatonic blues scale can be bent down to the next lower blues scale note.


WHEN/HOW: February of 2018. I have not yet had one made.


LAYOUT/DETAILS:

The 6 blow and is shared between two chords: as a perfect fifth for one chord and a minor third for the other chord. A compromise tuning--perhaps of ET -7 cents--may be in order. If octave splits are to be played, all of the As in the blow layer should be tuned to be beat-less.

The 5 draw and is shared between two chords: as a rootfor one chord and a perfect fifth for the other chord. Therefore, it can be tuned to ET and will sound good for both chords.

None of the major third notes in the draw layer are shared; they can be tuned to ET -14 cents.

None of the septimal minor seventh notes are shared; they can be tuned to ET - 31 cents.

[I am not an expert tuner. Use these ideas at your own risk. If you are an expert, please feel free to comment.]