OK, singers, go find some pickers who know about this: Mountain Modal Tuning?

Hardi and I were talking, and I described all of the above as well as I could, and he is so classically trained I was sure he would not GET it. BUT he had read in an old banjo book about MM tuning, and it sounds like a big part of this... a sharped third. Which may be why the melody in my fake book does not quite work as sung by the dots. Its chords also do not work as accompaniment to Emmy and Ricky (who BTW moved into my head for a couple of hours...) beacaue El Senor Rickee, who sings a stronger and possible melody line on the tape, is sharping or flatting something that reads as natural by the dots.

SO! I bet the chords would work fine for the piece as done bluegreass style, because all the players would know to tune to the MM tuning! Ah HAHH! I tinkin' the dots are wrong-- the transcriber went by key signature with no reference to mode, and some of those notes shouldda been sharped!

I WILL figure this out!

This would be why, to play accompaniment for what I decided would be a fair lead-line to strike, some of those chords had to change as I worked through the arrangement. Becaause I only have standard autoharp chords-- can't really retune into MM tuning, see. The notes I wanted to hear in the chord were not the dots on the page-- for instance, the chord shown called for a chord including an F.... I was hearing what turned out to be an F#, so I chose a chord with it.

This has got to be related to blues harmonica cross-harping. Here's how I know.

So funny. I wanted Hardi to fiddle like a bluegreass boy, so I bought him a Vassar Clemens CD and book. Way too fast and impossible to catch what he's doing! BUT I also had bought him a book and CD of BLUES fiddle... and ya know what? The two CDs sounded EXACTLY the same, except the blues CD was all slowed down! All he has to do is study with that till he has facility, then speed it up, and BOOM! Bluegrass Boy!

I am sure "everyone" else knows ALL THESE THINGS but sheeshe-- I gotta work it out as I go. Music forensic science. Analyze trace evidence!

And thanks to all those who validated my ear and head-- I knew I wasn't going crazy but I was sure the rest of you would think so!

More? More please?

~S~