Strategically Draw-Bending Slide Richter

Anything apart from the two mainstream default harmonicas (Solo-tuned fully-valved chromatic, and un-valved Richter 10-hole diatonic). Alternate tunings, different construction, new functionality, interesting old designs, wishful-thinking... whatever!
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IaNerd
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Strategically Draw-Bending Slide Richter

Post by IaNerd » Sun May 08, 2022 12:48 am

I was thinking about Brendan Power’s discussion on Extra-Deep Bends (in some cases, Half-Flat Slide), found here: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=863#p3845

Then I thought about the draw-bends that standard Richter tuning has which are well suited to the blues - namely holes 1 through 4. And I asked myself: Since a slide-harp gives us a whole other layer (i.e. slide-in), then what other bluesy draw-bends and additional bluesy draw-bends might be useful? As a guiding principle, I have written these new draw bends extending from one note of the minor hexatonic blues scale to (usually) the next lower such note.

COLOR KEY:
bright blue = bend from one blues scale note to (usually) the next lower blues scale note
green = blues scale slide-in blow notes, useful to play
yellow = mostly avoided slide-in blow notes

There can be lots of variations to this theme. I invite all of you to post your own below.

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IaNerd
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Re: Strategically Draw-Bending Slide Richter

Post by IaNerd » Sun May 08, 2022 1:20 am

See an earlier and related discussion of mine here: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=667#p2906

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Brendan
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Re: Strategically Draw-Bending Slide Richter

Post by Brendan » Sun May 08, 2022 2:55 am

Yes, thinking of a slide harmonica in this way offers a player lots of expressive options. If the slide-out scale is Richter (as in your example) and the slide-in scale is determined from the point of view of giving extra bends, it could be configured in many different ways.

Having a Guiding Principle is a good idea. Yours is a useful one. A couple of others might be:

1.Make the slide-in bendable note the lowest pitched note in the home scale (ie. the one that cannot bend). For example, in Richter tuning in C, the notes are C, E, G, C, E, G, C, D, F, A. With the slide in these notes could be configured to bend as much as desired, as either draw or blow bends.

Interestingly, a standard slide-diatonic (where the slide raises each note to the next note of the home scale) actually gives you this effect naturally.

2. Make the slide-in bendable note the same as the normally bendable one, but configure it to bend further in a way that works musically with the home scale. This is the approach I describe in my original post on this topic in the other thread referred to.

Within each Guiding Principle, the depth of the slide-in bends could be determined by some rule according to what you want to achieve.

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