[Harp-L] Re: Chromatic Instructions

[diachrome@xxxxxxxxxxx]

I've started teaching myself to play the chromatic again after running into a learning rut 7 years ago.
I knew the layout from repairing chromatics but was tired of blowing thru the blues scale for  soloing.
All the solos started to sound alike and that's where the rut came in.

This time my approach to wanting to play jazz or just fluently on the chrome is different.  
I have most of the Aebersold books, Jerry Coker's "Improvising Jazz" book and "Improvisation for Saxophone"  the scale/mode approach book from Berklee Press.  The last one is good to own if you can find a copy. I think the Flute book may be laid out the same.  Mine is written for C instruments. It outlines in notation exercises in every Mode in every key including the Blues Scale, Diminished Scale and Harmonic minor scales and has exercises for going from Dorian to Mixolydian Mode which most jazz soloing is based on.  The Aebersold books only give you the Scales in C so you can transpose yourself. 

I decided to learn to play melodic first in the key of the song written. This involved using the Pentatonic scale along with the Aebersold  "Major and Minor in all Keys" book/cd. It doesn't matter that the soloing doesn't sound like jazz or blues at first.   Being able to work up and down the harp fluently is the first goal. From there I added arpeggios from the Mixolydian scale and blues scale. This helped me to find my way around the chrome.  The next thing was to forget positions. I feel thinking in positions rather then modes will screw your transition from diatonic to chromatic. Also, avoid harp effects  at this time. Once you become fluent then you can add the octaves, flutters and other oral effects. 

I also don't focus on one book but work through several at a time so the practicing stays interesting instead of mind numbing. I also pick a few standards to learn each night so my sight reading improves.  I don't think knowing a vast amount of tunes by memory is as important as being able to read them on the fly at a gig.  Use your brain cells to learn the things you need to know to solo well.  

At the end of the week I treat myself by pulling out some blues songs that have no harp and
play melodic fills and solos along with the recording.  This gives me actual songs to work with. 
I've backed off the Aebersold "song" cd's for now. My soloing isn't to the point i sound like a jazz player playing over the changes but that will come. I do work with the Aebersold "tutorial" type learning cds. 

No matter what style you eventually want to play on the chromatic it's important to learn to play it melodic in all keys at first. This will get you into the habit of knowing when to blow/draw and use the slide. After awhile it's like bending a  note or overblowing. You don't need to think about it.  After that you can progress to what you need to know for the style you wan to play.  It's a natural progression like crawling, walking then running.

mike


 Sam wrote:
Hi Ya'll, 

Is anyone familiar with this chromatic instruction book: Beginning &
Intermediate Level Chromatic Harmonica Players: Musicianship and Performance
Skills. - Book 1 - 001?
I want to learn Chromatic from a music literacy standpoint.  What I mean by
that is that I want to learn to play it so that I'm more musically aware of
what I'm doing in terms of scales and all and I thought this book might be
that way to go about it.  My heart isn't set on this approach.  If it's too
much of a pain in the ass to get my 48 year old brain to thing right brained
about music there may be no book that will prove helpful to me.   If anybody
is familiar with this one I'd be interested in hearing your review and I
think others on this list would as wall.  Thanks.

 Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh