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

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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