[Harp-L] Melody Maker vs Paddy Richter tuning for Scottish fiddle tunes

[Richard Hammersley <rhhammersley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

As both my bandmates used to play in ceilidh bands, I'm thinking about  
learning some more Scottish tunes - I have learned a few in the past  
but 'cheated' and chose ones that could be played easily on a standard  
tuned diatonic.

I see the point of raising the 3 blow a tone (common to both tunings)  
but melody maker also sharpens the draw 5, while paddy richter  
doesn't. Is there any point in the sharpened draw 5 for Scottish  
music? Indeed isn't it even a problem for playing in second position,  
given that most Scottish music is heavily pentatonic?

Thanks for your advice

Richard


Richard Hammersley
Grantshouse, Scottish Borders
http://www.last.fm/music/Richard+Hammersley
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