Brendan Power & Alternative Harmonicas Forum

This is my favorite tuning for my half-valved chromatic. I think it does a great job of splitting the difference between diatonic and chromatic. I can play blues and melodies. Holes 1-6 are regular Paddy Richter, but the notes for holes 3-6 are repeated in holes 7-10. Holes 11 &12 repeat the pattern. It's similar to Power Draw. I elected to have the slide flatten rather than sharpen notes so that I could play a major scale in 2nd position without having to bend the 2 hole draw. The main reason why I choose this tuning over Power Chromatic is because I just couldn't live without the e/g combination of hole 2. It's my favorite note on a diatonic and I much prefer having the G as a draw note, rather than blow. To me there's nothing better than diatonic 2 hole draw vibrato. This beautiful note causes many headaches. It means that some positions are better with the slide in than out. The solution is simple. I'll buy myself a chromatic in every key! (Is it time for an intervention?)

That's a good useful tuning, David. I'd miss not being able to bend the F draw notes, but aside from that, very practical for 2nd position playing. You could tune them up a semitone so it would be like PowerChromatic in the top two octaves, but then you'd have to bend to get the Fs without using the slider.

Every tuning is a compromise