There are blues riffs in 2nd position which, to my amateur ear, can be played with either a straight 3 draw or a 3 draw single bend. Please help me think in general terms about situations where one is more appropriate than the other.
Sorry in advance if this topic has been discussed ad nauseum.
Last Edited by IaNerd on Jun 07, 2022 5:16 PM
Do you want the sunny, unbent sound, or the darker one-semitone bend?
Are other instruments playing one or the other? You should probably match them.
Advice often runs that you should definitely bend the note down on the IV chord, to match the 7th in that chord. But it's not always true. Your ear will be the final judge.
Is the song minor or major-- Thrill is gone the main chord is Bm7-u should bend
Find that song on you tube or whatever ---get an E harp, play 1d 2d 3d all unbent ---when u hit the the 3 draw over the Bm7 it sounds bad--now bend 3 draw 1st bend -- it fits--this does not apply if u play third position or a natural minor harp
On guitar in a standard 145 blues say A7 D7 E7---its not uncommon to hammer from the minor third to the third. Jonny Lang does it in "rack Em Up" ---it gives it an edgy sound. Peace
I understand that a “bluesy” flat seventh would be a *septimal* minor seventh, which is 31 cents flatter than would be dictated by Equal Temperament.
With a “bluesy” flat third, is there a theoretical departure from ET? This is relevant because this note appears “stock” as an unbent draw note four times on the PentaHarp.
@ianerd "I'm starting to wonder if there are people who otherwise enjoy the PentaHarp, but then retune the thirds up to major, and draw-bend them as needed."
Why do that? Just play it in tenth position.
For instance, if you have an A PentaHarp, use Draw 1 as the home note. You'll be in C and you have both the major and minor thirds, along with bends between the minor 7th, major seventh,tonic (Draw 1, 4, 7, 10) and between the fifth, flat fifth, and fourth (Draw 3, 6, and 9. This is actually a much more flexible position than first position on the PentaHarp.
I've made a coule of recordings where I do that.
PentaHarp Slow Drag is an 8-bar blues played in Eb on a C PentaHarp:
Good point about 10th position, Winslow. I would add that, in 10th, raising the 2 draw by a semitone provides a useful I chord (i.e. major). It could still be bent when desired.
