Re: [Harp-L] Playing scales

[Joe and Cass Leone <leone@xxxxxxxx>]

On Dec 8, 2006, at 11:59 PM, Jim McBride wrote:
>   A while back I posted on harp-L asking about exercises to get  
> faster on the harp. Jason Ricci suggested exercises based on  
> patterns from the blues scale. I started playing his "2 up 1 back"  
> blues scale exercise starting on 3 draw and its been a big help.

That's called 'stairstep' or more commonly a ladder exercise.

> Not so much in getting faster, but in moving me around on the harp  
> in ways I haven't done before. After playing that scale exercise  
> hundreds of times, I started hearing parts of it in my playing when  
> I was jamming. Thanks Jason! Got any more like that?

Try the stairstep backwards. That one is the 'waterfall'. It's a  
little trickier because our music tends to get us used to tunes  
ending on a higher key than what it was started on OR the ending  
notes are higher than the starting notes. This gets ingrained in our  
minds making a regressing exercise trickier.  :)

smo-joe
>   Jim McBride