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Favorite alternate tunings

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rb51:
Because my musical interest are more oriented toward melodic phrasing, I'm a fan of the "melody maker" tuning. It provides an easy full major scale complete with expressive bends. Recently I came across a variation of this tuning that makes it even more usable. Tony Eyers uses this tuning for bluegrass songs. I suppose it's not new, but it is new to me. http://www.harmonicatunes.com/tuning.htm

Although it reduces to total range on the instrument a bit, the tuning recaptures the usefulness of the blow notes for several chords and extends the range of third position playing. Plus, there are also quite a bit of useful minor key options. Just thought I'd share this, hoping others would respond with the virtues of their own favorite alternate tunings

Here it is:

Blow  D  F#  A  C  E  G  C  E  G  B
Draw E  G   B   D  F# A  B D  F# A

A few well-placed valves makes it even more fun.

rb51

Gnarly He Man:
This is the one! This is the "Major Cross" tuning that Tony Eyers uses which I have adopted, even building a slide version of. It is totally cool!
A similar tuning I am also exploring is the Magic Dick "Magic Bop Band", which goes as follows:
Hole   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10
Blow   C   E   G   A   C   E   G   A   C   E
Draw   D   F#   A   B   D   F#   A   B   D   F#
Please note the similarities to the other tuning--however, this one is the same in all octaves. I can play a chromatic scale with only one overblow. I cannot, however, play a phrase and then repeat it up a half step.
Perhaps this is why I play the guitar.
The Bop tuning is good as an Ionian instrument, also good for Mixolydian, and today I was doing "Mr. PC", which IIRC is Aeolian.
'Course, it's all Greek to me  :D
Gnarls

Gnarly He Man:
Just wanted to mention, I have tried valves on the Major cross too, and when they work, they do make certain things cooler--like draw bending hole 7 for the blue third.
G

Gnarly He Man:
More comments about these two tunings (well, three I guess) . . .
I was trying to do "The Work Song" with the Major Cross, and discovered that I needed a note on draw 2 (the minor 7th below--I was using the G major cross, like the Am Melody Maker) that was only available on the Melody Maker, so it's good that I still have one! So that's still Gm on an Am instrument--ah, the blues . .
And the other thing is, that Magic Bop tuning--it's still a chord instrument (this one is C6 blow, D6 draw, so it's a G Ionian) but it's very very chromatic, as all the accidentals are draw bends, except for the Eb. Is it my favorite? ???
THEY'RE ALL MY FAVORITES!!! ::)
G

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