[Harp-L] Making the Move to Chromatic



Well, I've been trying to learn chrom for the last few months in part because a bandleader i work with has been insisting on it and in part because i finally found a chrom that i enjoy playing and that's not sticky or temperamental (the Suzuki SCX-48 and SCX-56).

Surprisingly. I'm navigating the double C's just fine, and after years of playing diatonic in 6 positions, it sure is nice to have an instrument where all the notes are always in the same location. Thinking in terms of sharps all the time took a little getting used to, but I've been able to make that adjustment.

I'm not having much problem in learning to PLAY the chrom. I can play scales and specific melodies without much difficulty. BUT, being able to solo and improvise on the chrom is a different and much more difficult challenge. i get around pretty well on the diatonic in different positions because i know the breath patterns for the available scales and since my options are limited (I don't OB) I've learned to optimize within those limitations. But on chrom there are no such limitations since one has a complete 12 tone chromatic scale available instead of just certain patterns of notes.

The bandleader who is insisting I learn chrom (and who has a Masters in Music) tells me that learning scales isn't the most effective way to learn to improvise. According to him, learning the arpeggios of the chords to each tune is the foundation for effective improvisation. Since i play no other instruments and since one can't "build" chords on a diatonic, my knowledge of chord structures is less than fluent, And I haven't been able to find any books with tab for arpeggios. I've been advised to use books with music for sax or flute. I don't sight read, although I can make sense of a chart, but none of the books I've looked at label the arpeggios by name and it's tough for me to recognize what chord is being arpeggiated just by looking at the notes that are written out, so it's hard for me to orient myself in a music book.

Maybe there's a better way to go about it.

JP



This archive was generated by a fusion of Pipermail 0.09 (Mailman edition) and MHonArc 2.6.8.