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