Lee Oskar Harmonicas Available in Four Flavors!
Lee Oskar harmonicas are available in four different tunings. In addition to the Major Diatonic, you can play the Melody Maker™ , Natural Minor, and Harmonic Minor harps.
Before looking at the possibilities offered by these alternatives, let’s take a quick review of the standard Major Diatonic tuning.
Major Diatonic Tuning
The Lee Oskar harmonica is a single reed diatonic harmonica using what is technically known as the Richter System. It has ten holes, each hole leading to a chamber that contains one blow reed and one draw reed, the instrument having twenty reeds in total. This set-up was devised in the 1800s, during a time when many other new instruments were being marketed, mostly to non-musicians.
The tuning scheme used on the diatonic harmonica was designed to make playing simple melodies as easy as possible. Alternately blowing and drawing, starting with hole 4 and moving up the instrument produces the familiar diatonic scale – do re mi fa so la ti do. A harmonica in the key of C will produce the C major scale.
The scale is arranged so that the root note of the scale is always a blow note (holes 1, 4, 7, and 10) and blowing anywhere on the harp will give you the tonic chord in that key. The ti in the upper octave is omitted, as are the fa and la in the lowest octave. This allows the tonic chord to fall on the blow notes, and the dominant chord on the lowest draw notes.
Some time around the end of the 19th century, someone discovered a whole new way of approaching the instrument — cross harp, or second position playing — where the draw chord is the home chord and you begin the scale on hole 2 draw instead of hole 4 blow. This is how the harmonica is most often played in blues, rock, and much country music.
Using a C harp to play in the key of G, or a G harp to play in the key of D, puts the mixolydian mode at your fingertips — a major scale with a flattened seventh, which adds a bluesy tonality. Cross harp also brings the most expressive bent notes into prominent melodic positions, making it ideal for blues.
Though theoretically twelve positions exist, most players stick to a few keys per harmonica. Each position emphasizes different bendable notes, phrasing, and chord possibilities.
However, alternate tunings can offer capabilities simply not achievable on the standard Major Diatonic, no matter how skilled the player.
Harmonic Minor Tuning
Harmonic Minor is the traditional minor tuning for the harmonica, dating back to the 1920s. Between holes 4 and 7, it plays a harmonic minor scale: a scale with the third and sixth degrees lowered by a semitone. For example, the C harmonic minor scale is C D Eb F G Ab B C.
This tuning alters five reeds from the Major Diatonic: holes 2, 5, and 8 blow, and holes 6 and 10 draw are lowered by a semitone. Blowing gives a C minor chord; drawing on the first four holes yields a G chord (or G7 with hole 5, G7b9 with hole 6).
While some bending can replicate the scale on a major harp, the Harmonic Minor offers unique chord voicings. Its scale appears in Western classical, East European, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, klezmer, and Gypsy music — and in pop and metal as well.
Lee Oskar devoted the first side of his 1975 debut album to this tuning. It’s not the typical choice for blues, but does support minor blues in first position and interesting second position sounds such as freygish or hijaz modes.
The Harmonic Minor can be played chromatically in the lower half using only standard bends — no overblows needed.
Natural Minor Tuning
Introduced by Lee Oskar in the mid-1980s, this tuning is built around the natural minor scale and designed for second position (cross harp) playing. A Gm Natural Minor (GmN) covers the same range as a C Major Diatonic. The scale starts at hole 2 draw, and Gm is marked on the right end of the comb.
Compared to a C Major Diatonic, five reeds are changed: blow notes in holes 2, 5, and 8, and draw notes in holes 3 and 7 are lowered by a semitone.
This tuning is ideal for minor key blues like “The Thrill Is Gone,” minor reggae like Bob Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up,” and “I Shot the Sheriff,” and jazzy standards like “My Funny Valentine” and “Summertime.”
You get your three minor chords with ease: draw holes 2–4 for Gm, blow anywhere for Cm, and draw 4–6 for Dm. Many cross harp licks transfer directly to this tuning, now automatically minor.
Melody Maker™ Tuning
Launched in the early 1990s, this tuning is optimized for melody in second position. It preserves the bending and expressiveness of cross harp but gives you the full major scale — no flattened seventh.
Like the Natural Minor, it starts on hole 2 draw and is labeled by the cross harp key. A G Melody Maker™ (G MM) matches the range of a C Major Diatonic. Three notes differ: holes 5 and 9 draw are raised by a semitone for a natural 7th, and hole 3 blow is raised two semitones for the 2nd scale degree.
You get full access to bluesy draw bends while gaining easy access to major melodies. You can still bend 3 draw for the minor third, and 5 draw for the flat seventh.
Chord possibilities are rich: draw 2–4 gives G major; blow 4–6 gives C major; draw 4–6 gives D major. Blow 3–5 gives A minor; draw 3–5 gives B minor. Extended chords include GM7, GM9, Am7, Bm7, and more.
It’s excellent for expressive straight harp melodies, jazz standards like “Georgia On My Mind,” “White Christmas,” and others. Try partial chords or harmonizing below melody lines — it shines in styles like reggae and tropical pop.
The Taste Test
All this theory only gets you so far — the real test is in the playing. Grab one harp in each tuning and play the same riff or chord rhythm on all four. Compare a blues riff on the Major Diatonic, Natural Minor, Melody Maker™, and Harmonic Minor. You’ll hear how the same licks change flavor — from sweet to dark to spicy to strange.
Try a classic train rhythm and listen how the flatted seventh in cross harp keeps it grounded. Now try that on the Melody Maker™ and see how it flies off the tracks. On the Natural Minor, it might feel like the train’s in reverse!
This article only scratches the surface. These alternate tunings aren’t just easier for beginners and more flexible for pros — they unlock colors, textures, and harmonic choices simply not possible on standard diatonics. Listen to Lee Oskar and Richard Hunter for inspiration, or just start experimenting and taste the possibilities for yourself.