Re: diatonics and song keys

[Bill Long <LONGWJ@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

WARNING: ANOTHER POST ABOUT HARMONICA KEYS FOLLOWS

Hey there,

>Date: Mon, 12 Sep 1994 09:59:43 +1200
>From: HARLEYS@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: diatonics and song keys
> 
>If you are to play a song in the key of A  then you use an "A Harp" Yes?

Yes, if you are going to play a song like "She'll be Comin' Round the 
Mountain" or many other traditional folk songs that are written in a major 
key...this is what's known as "straight" harp.

But if the song is in a minor key, like A minor, then the A harp isn't 
going to have the right notes on it.  To get the correct key signature (no 
sharps or flats for A-min) you have to select a C harp because it has the 
right notes to fit in with the chords you will play in A-min.  I don't know 
how much music theory you know so this is difficult...but these two keys (A
-min and C-maj) are called relative, because they share the same key 
signature.

Anyway, if you try playing in the key of A-min on a C harp you'll notice 
that the tonic (or the beginning note of the scale, in this case the note A)
is missing in the lower octave (an octave is the interval from one A all 
the way up the scale to the next A).  You can drawbend the next note up (B) 
down to the A, but sometimes this is a clumsy way of playing it (it gets 
better the more you practice).

Another option would be to select a G harp and play in the key of A-min.  
But it's not a true minor.  It is called the "Dorian Mode" and it's almost 
the same as the natural minor scale except that the 6th step of the scale 
is a half-step higher in pitch (a B natural instead of a B flat).  Because 
it has a tonic in the lower octave without bending, this mode is usually 
much easier to use when you need to play a song in a minor key...like 
"Which Side Are You On?".

Another option for playing songs in A-min would be to select an F harp.  
This produces the "Phrygian Mode" which is also very similar to the natural 
minor but with the second note of the scale a half step down (B flat 
instead of B natural).  Sometimes a song will actually call for the flat 
second, like in "The Bells of Rhimney", but most times you can use this to 
play a minor key by just avoiding playing the second scale note.
 
>Does this change when you start bending the notes?

Yes and no.  All the above selections are valid...and they all have a 
distinct flavor.  Each one allows you to do different things with  the 
melody and harmony.  Ahh, but once you start bending you can really get 
into the meat of harp playing (IMHO).  Now you would select a D harp and 
play it in the key of A.  This is commonly called "Cross harp".  The 
beauty of this method is that you can get an A chord by drawing on holes 1,
2,3,and 4 (an A-dom7 if you include the 5 hole) and you get a D chord (a IV 
chord in this key...as in I-IV-V-I, a way to express chord progressions 
without referring to a specific key), AND if you drawbend holes 2,3 and 4 
you can get what are called the "blue" notes.  They are the flat third,
fifth, and seventh steps of the scale (C nat. instead of C sharp, E flat 
instead of E nat., and G nat. instead of G sharp).  They are minor notes 
superimposed on major chords...sort of.  This is the most commonly use 
"position" on the harp.

I've described the most often used positions...but you can basically play 
in any mode on a particular harp if a song calls for it.  You just have to 
know what mode is needed, and what key the song is in so you can select the 
right harp to give you the sound you're looking for.  The positions are 
commonly named according to the circle of fifths (a wheel you can construct 
by starting with a note and then going five steps up and putting that note 
next to the previous one...when you go all the way around you will arrive 
back at the starting note and have all twelve pitches around the wheel) so 
straight harp would be called "first" position.  Cross harp is second 
position, Dorian mode is third position (this confused me when I first 
started reading this list because I had always thought of positions in 
terms of steps of the scale and dorian mode would be second if thought of 
that way), Natural minor is fourth position, and Phrygian mode would be 
fifth position.  The positions continue on, describing less common modes 
that aren't often found in music...but they can all be played if necessary. 
These are the ones that I use...but then I'm only a harmonica angel and not 
a harmonica god ;^).

As the good folks on this list have seen these types of questions over and 
over, if you have any other questions feel free to use personal e-mail...
unless you think it's something the whole list should see. 

Hope this is helpful.

Bill Long >-- StarGazer
bitnet: longwj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
internet: longwj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  (137.142.18.1)