Is slapping 3+ or 2 mostly a musical or technical choice?
Suppose that 2 and 3+ are both mastered (which is not yet stable for me, either way, so I cannot reliably experiment).
On your examples, one can find both as slaps on a I chord. Often I find that my slapped 3+ would sound better as slapped 2, because the chord is more adequate. When I come back to your recordings, it isn't so, though (except the repeated 3+ on Temperature, for which I would be interested to compare with a pro-level 2 alternative...).
I first thought 3+ would be used only for short slaps (more an effect that a strong slap in which the chord can really be heard). Or when on a weak beat, and 2 when there is more accent. But I found good-sounding counter-examples.
Examples that confuse me:
- on Solo Harmonica 2, ex 1.4, F ends in 3+, and J in 2.
- ex 2.1 and 2.2 use 2 (first note), and ex 2.3 use 3+ in what seem the same context. When I try it myself, I can clearly hear a difference, in favor of 2. But you sound great.
Another hypothesis is that the player hears the difference more than the audience, for which the "fullness" of the 3+ slap becomes more important than the "wrong" chord?
Another hypothesis is that for a good player both sound ok anyway and the choice becomes mostly technical or opportunistic?
Or maybe the chord mismatch is sometimes a wanted musical effect in itself?
Hello ÉricD.
Both sound good, and are used interchangeably by players.
Sometimes we choose the 3+ to help balance our breath (get rid of air). As you advance, you will use more draws in 2nd Position, mostly due to bending (somewhere close to 90% in your more advanced stages). This makes the 3+ a valuable tool.
Sometimes we choose the 3+ due to the line. For example... to play the famous "Mannish Boy" lick, with the 2 draw it would be 2 4+ 2 3 2 and with the 3+ it's the more smooth alternative 2 4+ 3+ 3 2.
Sometimes we choose the 3+ for its larger slap chord (such as the passages you mention in "Temperature" and in "Juicy Harmonica" by George Smith for example... he uses a lot of big 3+ slaps). The fact that the draw chord (2 draw slap) is a I Chord and the blow chord is a IV Chord (3+ slap) does not matter. One would think that it should be avoided, but it sounds good and doesn't keep us away from the blow chord. The thought is that we're still in the key (unlike engaging the slide on a chromatic for one note, and the chord of the slap has all of the notes raised as well, which are notes outside of the key... that IS noticeable). And...the chord of the slap is quick, so it's not heard as a "pitch-based event" but more of an effect...there's not enough time for our ears to hear that it's "outside."
Sometimes we choose the 3+ for tonal reasons... when you dig into the greats (Little Walter and Rice Miller for example), you'll hear 3+ and then 2 right after it.
Lastly, sometimes we choose the 3+ for no reason except for playfulness (it entertains us to switch it up).