Fwd: [Harp-L] Playing in majors/minors





Begin forwarded message:

From: "John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>
Date: July 18, 2010 12:43:11 AM GMT-04:00
To: michael rubin <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Playing in majors/minors

Michael,

I am self taught, play no other instruments and have no formal music training. A musician who doesn't know where the notes are on his/her instrument is not a basically competent musician. Being able to PLAY those notes competently is an advanced skill.

It's simple on harmonica, because if you know the locations of the degrees of the scale in different positions on ONE harmonica, you know them all because it's the the same for all 12 keys. The problem is that all the published instructional material teaches POSITIONS (not scales) and teaches the positions one at time (usually stopping at third).

A simpler and easier way to do it would be to teach scales and teach the student to play the particular scale in several positions simultaneously since none of the 6 most common positions is any more "advanced" than another. In fact, it's easier to play the blues scale in third position than in second because fewer bends are required. It's easier to play the minor scale in fourth position than in third because if you start on draw 6 NO bends are required and there are no avoid notes. If you can play the major pentatonic scale in second position, the same breath pattern is the minor pentatonic scale in fifth position. If you can play the minor pentatonic scale in third position, the same breath pattern is the major pentatonic scale in twelfth position. The major pentatonic scale in first position is the same breath pattern as the minor pentatonic scale in fourth position. So, if a player can learn the breath patterns for THREE 5 note scales, the player can automatically play in SIX positions well enough to improvise. It's easier than learning to play the blues scale in seond position well enough to improvise.

This is NOT hard--we think it's hard because all the instructional books make it hard by teaching in a manner that make s it seem a whole lot more difficult and complicated than it actually is.

FWIW,

JP


On Jul 18, 2010, at 12:03 AM, michael rubin wrote:


After years of teaching I believe having a basic knowledge of scales
and knowing your harp well enough to know which holes are which scale
degree IS an advanced understanding.  It is not easy for everybody.
But, everybody CAN learn it.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com

On Sat, Jul 17, 2010 at 10:13 PM, John F. Potts <hvyj@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Bill Kumpe writes:

I'm kind of a simple method player. For the most part I play first, second
and third position only. Somebody correct me if I am wrong but isn't the
"easy" minor the third position aka "slant harp", one step up from the key
of the harp?


Bill,

Using third position is the conventional wisdom for playing a Richter tuned
harmonica in a minor key and is supposed to be good for blues.


Well, in my experience, for certain minor key material third works fine.
Fifth position also sounds great for minor key blues, and sounds BETTER for
NATURAL minor key blues than third position. You CAN use third for natural
minor but you've got to be careful to avoid the major 6th which is limiting.


After i learned fifth position, I became able to play all sorts of material
i could never play on a diatonic before, and i found that I could play more
fluidly and musically on minor tunes using fifth. I didn't have to play the
harmonica like it was a harmonica. It changed how i thought about playing
the instrument and how i approached playing minor key material


You know, learning multiple positions is just learning to play the harmonica
in different keys, which is something most players of other instruments do
as a matter of course. I don't OB, so i can't play a harmonica in 12 keys.
But i can play in 6 positions. And i don't consider it something that's
difficult to do or "advanced." There are common breath patterns that work
in different positions, and it's really just a matter of knowing what hole
to start on and what hole is what degree of the scale in which position.
It's not rocket science and doesn't require sophisticated musical
knowledge--just a basic understanding of scales (or a good ear, which i am
not blessed with).


IMHO, third position is a useful way to play CERTAIN minor key material but
is not a "one size fits all" approach playing in minor keys. You really
limit what you can play if you ONLY use third to play in minor keys. And
playing in third is not particularly "easy." Fifth position is actually
easier to play than second or third because there are fewer bends required.


Think about it.

FWIW.

JP






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