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IRISH HARMONICA 2: An Introduction to Paddy Richter Tuning, & ‘The Kerry Reel’: Brendan Power
Posted on September 12th, 2009 4 commentsPaddy Richter Tuning is fun to play and easy to learn! In this video I show how it is great for several different styles and common positions on the harp. I originally came up with the tuning for playing Irish music (hence the name
It only involves a small change to the standard tuning: hole 3 blow is raised a tone (two semitones); the rest of the harps stays the same. It works well in Cross Harp (2nd Position), Straight harp (1st Position), 3rd Position, 4th Position, 5th Position, as … -
IRISH HARMONICA 1: ‘The Maids of Mitchelstown’, & Demo of Half-Valved Harps: Brendan Power
Posted on July 28th, 2009 5 commentsA sweet and lovely Irish reel, The Maids of Mitchelstown, followed by a demonstration of Half-Valved Harmonica. THE MAIDS OF MITCHELSTOWN is a wonderful tune (I play it in G here, though it’s usually played in D). Its beauty lies in its ambivalent quality, both in rhythm (it seems to keep rolling on, never coming to rest) and its shifting key centre. Though it resolves briefly to G at the end, it shifts between Em, Am, C, D and G at various parts, giving a pleasant sense of restlessness. If …