[noduerme]

Very interesting! I've played harp casually all my life without ever really learning about alternate tunings. The Melody Maker sounds like it would open some nifty possibilities! Someone bought me a chromatic harp once as a gift and I could never figure out how to play it properly. It's funny though, because as a piano and guitar player I never thought about what I was doing. I just play a cheap blues band or marine band, and I realize now that the positions that feel most normal to me are 1st, 2nd and oddly, 12th. I remember once jamming with an old folk rocker (my former guitar teacher) and he started playing something in F major while I was on a C harp. He didn't think I'd be able to follow - at the time, I just called this "cross harp" because I thought that was the generic term for playing in any other key! I don't know why playing in a major 4th seems so unusual, but he was kinda shocked that I pulled it off. There's only one note you can't play straight in that setup...

[Stratoscope]

That is so cool that you discovered those alternate positions!

Yes, "cross harp" is also known as second position. I have never explored the other positions as you have. There is so much to experiment with.

If you ever want to try the Melody Maker tuning, I would pick a song you want to play and get one in that key. I mentioned Dreams (A minor / High F Melody Maker) and You Make Loving Fun (Bb Melody Maker) for the female vocal parts.

Another one I have fun with is Wagon Wheel (the Darius Rucker version). It's in A Major, and yes, Lee Oskar does have an off the shelf Melody Maker in that key.

I do the fiddle part, which was quite a challenge to learn! And the organ part, which is much easier.

I can read music, slowly, but mostly I learn by ear. I used a site called Karaoke Version:

https://www.karaoke-version.com/

This site lets you create your own mix of instruments and vocals for any song.

First I made a mix with everything included, so I could play along with the fiddle and organ parts.

Once I had it down, I made a second mix with fiddle and organ dropped out so I could play those parts on my own. It still included the vocals.

Unfortunately, Karaoke Version later replaced the track with a much inferior version. I have no idea why! If anyone wants the two mixes I worked with (the one including fiddle and organ, and the one without), ping me and I can send them to you on the sly.

[smartaz42]

I've found Jason Ricci to be a most useful source as well. Adam Gussow, Tom Leckie, Will Wilde, and Howard Levy all have recommended YouTube content.

I haven't checked out the app, but certainly plan to in order to fine tune my scales (major/minor penatonic, blues, and a few more).

By the way, once you get 2nd position major pentatonic those same notes are 5th position minor penatonic (albeit with a different starting notes). Same for 1st major and 4th minor, and 12 major and 3rd minor.

[egdels]

Glad to hear you're planning to check out the app! It includes scale training for major, minor pentatonic, blues, and a few more. If you notice any scales missing that you'd like to see added, feel free to reach out — I'm always happy to improve it based on feedback.