RE: [Harp-L] Re: Paddy Richter vs. Melody Maker



> Steve Shaw wrote: "It's the tunes that work best on a G harp that call most
> for the Paddy tuning."
>
> With respect to Steve, I disagree: for me, one of the best things about
> Paddy Richter tuning is that it opens up the whole of the bottom octave of
> the D harp for melody playing. Though it is possible to use the Low D and
> play the holes from 4 on up (as Steve likes to do), I prefer the funky sound
> of the bottom octave of a standard D harp. Here is a video to show what I
> mean:
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1-BTe5oHhQ
>
> The only note missing in the D scale is G, but that is an easy whole tone
> bend on 2 draw, and it's generally a passing note in the modes associated
> with a D harp. To my mind, the bend adds flavour to the tunes rather than
> detracts from them.
>
> Of course (as Steve point out) if the tune goes down to a low A or B, you do
> need to use a Low D harp. And there are some tunes where the middle octave
> layout is easier or more appropriate.
>
> If not, I would almost always choose the standard D in Paddy Richter,
> because of the earthy tonal qualities of that bottom octave.

Thanks for that. I'm nowhere near as adept at bending to hit notes really accurately in quick tunes, so I prefer, as you correctly identify, to use a low D and play the melodies from 4-blow up.  It's worth pointing out that what you say in no way invalidates the point that Paddy is exceptionally useful for tunes you'd usually grab a G harp for.  In the dark days before Paddy Richter, Glenn Weiser, in his excellent and recommendable collection, was advocating the use of a 12-hole G harp for those awkward tunes that needed the missing sixth.  Generally, that meant using one of those big, fat Hohner 364s and playing high. Good fun, but gimme a 10-hole Paddied harp any time! :-)  
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