As expert harp player Steve Baker describes in his book, The Harp Handbook, the Marine Band harmonica in Natural Minor tuning means that "all the 3rds in the blow and draw chords...are tuned a semitone lower than the Richter system, so that both blow and draw chords are minor...." This "tuning is great for blues and rock numbers in minor keys..." and is "also very good for minor key reggae numbers, or similar spacey groove music...." In general, natural minor harps have a very bluesy, soulful sound that's perfect for playing minor blues, rock, country, reggae, pop, and jazz. This fabulous tuning is set up to play minor music easily without straining the lips, the lungs, or the mind! All of the notes and chords that were missing on the major diatonic harps for playing minor blues are right there on the natural minor. Natural minors are designed to be played in cross harp (draw), not straight harp (blow) style. In cross harp, many of the draw notes can be bent, allowing for a much more expressive, fluid style of playing. In addition, cross harp is a very popular style used by most players for today's music.
