Re: [Harp-L] Help me position/key

[Steve Baker <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Winslow wrote:

<The organ chords playing behind Sonny Boy on the original studio  
recording are definitely minor. So is the bass lick. So is the  
melody. So are the harmonica licks. I'd have to say the tune is  
unambiguously in a minor key. Sonny Boy played it in second position,  
F using a Bb harp. He bent draw 3 down most of the time (sometimes he  
let it roll upward during certain licks) and avoided Blow 2 and 5, to  
help preserve the minor feel even though second position defaults to  
a major feel overall.>

Thanks Winslow, you are 100% right on this. I find it physically  
painful to hear major thirds played over minor chords. Unfortunately  
even some famous harmonica players are guilty of this, though they'd  
probably be out of a job fairly swiftly if they played "proper"  
instruments.

If you want to play a song in a minor key on a standard 10-hole harp  
in 2nd position, just stick exclusively to the notes of the blues  
scale and you can't really go wrong:

2-draw, 3-draw halftone band, 4-blow, 4-draw halftone bend, 4-draw, 5- 
draw, 6-blow (G Bb C Db D F G on a C harp). 1-draw and 2-draw whole  
tone bend will also be fine.

Make sure that at all costs you leave out the major sounding notes in  
2- & 5-blow (third in the IV chord, sixth in the I chord)  and  3- 
draw unbent (the most difficult one to avoid, major third in the I  
chord). As Winslow observes, you can occasionally bend the halftone  
bend up towards the unbent 3-draw, but you should never sustain or  
start the note unbent. Other musicians will love you if you follow  
this tip and you will never sound grating or out of tune. As Chris  
Rock said, "If you follow these simple hints, you probably won't get  
your ass kicked by the police". After all, if you want to be accepted  
by "real musicians" it makes sense to act like one,

Steve (who gets quite worked up when this topic arises)