Re: [Harp-L] Paddy Richter for Blues?

["Tim Moyer" <wmharps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

jazmaan wrote:
> But Tim, what about the fact that you when you raise the 3 blow 
> you lose that deep 1-1/2 step bend on the 3 draw?   You said 
> you're not primarily a blues player, but the question was whether 
> Paddy is good for blues.  I say the reduced bendability of that 3 
> draw makes Paddy (and Melody Maker which is just Paddy on the blow 
> plane and Double Country on the draw plane) unsatisfactory for
> blues.   Unless of course you have a retuned XB!  Then you get to 
> keep your deep 3 bend AND have your raised 3 blow.  It's like 
> having your cake and eating it too!

I hope this isn't going to degenerate into a discussion of "what is 
blues", but I'd argue that the flatted 2nd isn't that useful in a 
blues context.  What I've heard most often is players NOT nailing 
the 3 draw wholestep bend when going for the 2 note.  The biggest 
deficits I see in the paddy modification for blues are the loss of 
the IV chord and the 2nd position tonic octave (3-6 blow).  

The suitability of this tuning might have more to do with a player's 
style.  If you play mostly single notes and not a lot of chords, 
octaves and intervals you might find the paddy tuning is just fine 
for you.  On the other hand, if you use a lot of chords and octaves 
it may be less suitable.  

The place where I found the Paddy tuning to be the biggest 
hinderance was in country music, where I do a lot of "clucking" on 
the tonic on the backbeat.  There it's useful to have the duplicated 
tonic to get the breathing patterns right.  

-tim

Tim Moyer
Working Man's Harps
http://www.workingmansharps.com/