Re: [Harp-L] Melody Makers, Paddy Richters, and recording

[Cara Cooke <cyberharp@xxxxxxxxx>]

I don't know what the melody required, but you might have also tried a
D harmonica -- perhaps a low D (12th position).  The notes you
described you needed would have been there, too, just placed
differently.

By the way, I have an appreciation for the Paddy Richter and Melody
Maker tunings, though I tend to use stock Richter harmonicas.

Cara Cooke
www.cyberharp.isonfire.com

On Apr 1, 2005 10:09 AM, Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I did another session this week for a producer/composer that I've worked
> with on several documentaries.  This was a single cue, about 30 measures
> of music.  The melody was based entirely on a G pentatonic scale:
> 
> G A B D E
> 
> The range of the melody was from D above Middle C to E a major ninth
> (octave + a whole step) higher.  The part featured a notated bend into B
> (third of the scale) in several places.
> 
> Now, what's the best way to play this part?  Most players would reach
> for a C harp and play the piece in second position.  Others might go for
> 1st  position on a G harp.  Both approaches have problems, though.  In
> second position on a C harp, you'd have to play a double bend on draw 3
> to get an A in the bottom octave -- and the melody leaned on that note
> prominently, so the distinct sound of the bend would be a problem.  If
> you played it an octave up on that harp -- which the producer didn't
> want, anyway -- you can't get a convincing bend up into the B in that
> octave.
> 
> If you played it in first position on a G harp, you can't get the bend
> going up into the B (blow 5 in this case), and you have the same draw 3
> bend problem (in this case on the sixth degree of the scale, E) in the
> bottom octave.
> 
> The solution was to use a Lee Oskar G Melody Maker, which has all the
> notes needed to play the melody in second position, without bends or
> overblows, in the bottom octave.  A Paddy Richter in C -- i.e. a
> standard tuning with the blow 3 reed tuned up a full step, to make a
> complete scale in second position in the bottom octave -- would have
> worked too.
> 
> When a melody demands a full scale in the bottom octave, and the sound
> of a diatonic harp is what's needed, the Melody Makers and Paddy
> Richters are absolutely the way to go.  I've made a note to myself to
> expand my sets of these tunings.
> 
> Thanks and regards, Richard Hunter
> hunterharp.com
> New live jammin' acoustic blues CD "All You Good People"
> http://hunterharp.com/goodmain.html
> 
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