Re: [Harp-L] New topic added about “intervals” (effortless harmonica)

[michael rubin <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx>]

Abner,
Do you have a C and a G harp?  Can you play Oh Suzannah starting on
hole 4 blow?  When you do, you can play it moving your mouth over the
same hole numbers.  The song still sounds like the song, but it is
higher pitched on the C harp and lower pitched on the G harp.  The
song is in different keys and the two different note layouts on the
two different harps.  The reason why the song still sounds like the
songs is because the amount of keyboards notes between each hole is
the same from harmonica to harmonica.  For example, the notes on a
keyboard (using the sharp names) are C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B.
The next note would be the next highest C.

Let's look at the first two notes of the song.  Well I (come from
Alabama)  Well is played on 4 blow and I is played on 4 draw on both
harps.  On a C harp 4 blow is the note C.  4 draw is the note D.  How
much higher is D from C on the keyboard?

C  C#  D
0   1    2

Two notes higher.  On a G harmonica, 4 blow is G.  What is two
keyboard notes higher than G?

G   G#  A
0    1    2

A is two keyboard notes higher than G.  Than means 4 draw on a G harp
is the note A.  Because the distance between 4 blow and 4 draw is
always two keyboard notes on any standard  tuned harmonica, you can
play Oh Suzannah on any harp starting with 4 blow and moviung your
mouth the same way.

But there is more than one way to play Oh Suzannah on a harp.  All you
have to do if find a note on a harp and find two keyboard notes higher
than that, played those two notes consecutively and you will hear the
first two notes of Oh Suzannah.

For example, 2 draw on a C harmonica is the note G.  What is two
keyboard notes higher than G?  A is.  We showed that a minute ago.
Where is the A that is close to 2 draw on the C harp?  3 draw double
bend or hole 3 draw lowered two keyboard notes.  Therefore if you were
to play 2 draw followed by 3 draw double bend, it would sound like the
beginning of OH Suzannah.

When we played Oh Suzannah on our C harp starting on 4 blow, the first
note was C.  This was Oh Suzannah in the key of C.  Not every song in
the key of C begins with the note C, but a lot of them do.

When we played Oh Suzannah on our C harp starting on 2 draw, the first
note was G.  This was Oh Suzannah in the key of G.

We have a C harmonica, but we are playing it in a key that is
different than C.  Because of blow notes, draw notes, bent notes and
overblow notes, every note is available on every harmonica from the
range of 1 blow to 10 blow (even further if you overdraw 10).

That means you can play in any key on any harmonica.  You can play any
scale you want.  Even if you cannot bend or overblow, if you have most
of the notes in a scale, you can play in that scale.  I say scale as
opposed to saying key because the scale used for happy music is
different than the scale used for sad music.  One key may have many
scales that create different feelings.  If you have most of the notes
in a scale of a certain key, you can play that feeling in that key.

The numbering system for positions used to relate to which position
people usually found first.  First position means playing in the same
key as the name of the harp.  That's usually the style people find
first.  Second position refers to the most common way people play
blues, with 2 draw as the home base note.  Normally people find that
way of playing next.

Nowadays the numbering system is based on the circle of fifths.  The
circle of fifths is a concept people use to help visualize musical
ideas.  What you do is start with the do re mi scale of any key find
the fifth note in that scale, the so note.

DO re mi fa so
1    2  3   4   5

in the C major scale, the so note, or the fifth note, is G.

C  D   E  F   G
1   2   3  4   5

The next scale in the circle would therefore be the G major scale.

The fifth note in the G major scale is D

G A B C D
1  2 3 4  5

The next scale in the circle would be the D scale.

If you kept doing this you would ultimately return to the C scale.
That is why it is called a circle.  Since there are twelve keys, it is
often visualized as a clock.

Create a clock with C in the midnight spot, G in the 1 o'clock spot, D
in the two o'clock spot.  Continue with A E B F# C# Ab Eb Bb F.  You
should have a filled out clock.

If you play a C harp in the key of C, that is first position.  If you
play a G harp in the key of G, that is first position.  Playing Oh
Suzannah with 4 blow as the starting note is an example of first
position.

Put your finger on C and say 1.  Move clockwise and say 2.  WHat key
is 2 on?  G.  If you play in the key of G on a C harp, that is second
position.

Put your finger on G and say 1.  Move clockwise and say 2.  What key
is 2 on?  D.  If you play in the key of D on a G harp, that is second
position.  Playing Oh Suzannah starting with 2 draw on any harp is a
good example  of 2nd position because 2 draw is always the fifth note,
the so note, of the major scale with the same name as the harp.

Put your finger on C and say 1.  Move clockwise two times and say 2
then 3.  What key is 3 on?  D.  Playing in the key of D on a C harp is
third position.

RD said this  "Abner;
>           On a piano, without leaving the white keys, you can play in
> C major, D minor, E minor, A minor, G major (but with a flat 7th note)
>           On a ten hole diatonic harp, you can do all of this without
> bending, and, with bends, play some of the black notes too.
>          That's making it as simple as I can."

Do you remember how I said if you can play most of the notes in a
scale you can play that scale?  RD is pointing out that without
bending or overblowing, all of the notes on a C harp are white keys on
the keyboard.  He is pointing out that some scales in C major, D
minor, E minor, etc are scales that use only white keys.  Therefore
playing in the C major scale on a C harp is a position, the D minor
scale on a C harp is a position, etc.  This is an oversimplification.
It may be a great starting point but it leaves out many possibilities.

Essentially positions are playing in multiple keys on one harmonica as
measured numerically by that key's clockwise distance on the circle of
fifths from the name of the harp.  If you move your mouth the same way
on another keyed harp, you will still be playing in the same position,
but the key (and high and lowness of the notes) with change based on
using the harp's name as the new starting point on the circle.

Whew!

Hopefully that helps.  We can always do a skype lesson or two.  I am
not trying to take business away from your coach, it is called cross
training.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com









On Mon, Feb 21, 2011 at 6:35 PM, Abner <cdgaldos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I'm sorry guys I'm just dumb as a sack full of hammers.
> I will save this and one day I will hit me.
> Thanks
>
> Abner Galdós
>
>
>
> On Feb 21, 2011, at 5:29 PM, "Rick Dempster" <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> Abner;
>>           On a piano, without leaving the white keys, you can play in
>> C major, D minor, E minor, A minor, G major (but with a flat 7th note)
>>           On a ten hole diatonic harp, you can do all of this without
>> bending, and, with bends, play some of the black notes too.
>>          That's making it as simple as I can.
>> RD
>>
>>>>> Abner <cdgaldos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 22/02/2011 3:04 >>>
>> For some reason the page would not load.
>> But maybe you guys can help me. I am still so confused about playing
>> position on a harp. 1st 2nd 3rd and so on. It seems to me that on let
>> say the C harp with 10 holes your still playing the same holes.
>> Ok, I'm still an infant here, I play at Open Mic and jam with real
>> players on Sunday. They seem to love my sound. But when I read harp
>> book, see Vid's I'm still lost.
>> I have a mentor (Richard Perkins, dame good player ) who  is a member
>> of harp l and he tries his best but I'm  dumb and thick headed when it
>> comes to learning.
>> Sorry for this weak, interruption.
>>
>> Abner Galdós
>>
>>
>>
>> On Feb 21, 2011, at 10:14 AM, Wim Dijkgraaf <w.dijkgraaf@xxxxxx>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Today I added a new main menu called “mastery”. This menu will be
>> used for exercises and examples about mastering your instrument and
>> basic building blocks in music (intervals, chords, etc.).
>>>
>>> This week is all about intervals, the main building block for
>> constructing melodies and harmonies.
>>>
>>> For you to get a first impression about this new item called
>> “mastery”, check out an improvisation based on the interval of a
>> minor third. Here is the link:
>>>
>>>
>> [url]http://www.effortlessharmonica.com/harmonica-how-to-play/mastery/intervals/[/url]
>>>
>>> Have fun!
>>>
>>> Wim
>>
>
>