The Diatonic Corner

In August 2002, I launched The Diatonic Corner, a column that has appeared four times a year ever since in Autoharp Quarterly.  There, I feature tunes from all over the world incorporating the “chord-and-release” method of playing tunes with lots of little notes.  (By the way, I am always on the hunt for tunes from anywhere in the world to feature in TDC.  Let me know if you’ve got a tune to share, or a good tune whose chords and/or technical aspects still mystify you.)

The best way to read TDC articles, which always include playing tips relevant to each tune, is to subscribe to Autoharp Quarterly.  AQ also provides a periodic index of articles and tunes to help you catch up with all past TDC articles, too.

Below are audio files for the tunes featured in the last five issues of AQ.  All files were created in a digital format that plays each tune clearly; some tunes offer two audio files at fast and slow tempos.  Note:  The files play the melody only; the chords supplied with each tune in AQ are meant sound harmony as well.  Open up your string hand to find great harmonies!

Once you know how the tune goes, play it with the chords (yes, play more than the melody alone!) that you’ll find with the music notation in each AQ.

Click on the link in the last column below to hear the tune whose notation and chords appear in Autoharp Quarterly.