stuff for beginnerand intermediates(long)

[Christian N Michalek <micha018@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Beginners looking to get out of the beginner phase and into the next?

I hope the following isn't too jocular and non-athletic...

Practice practice practice!! It is not necessary to know all the scales or 
notes on the harp, just to become an intermediate player. It is 
recommended to learn all this stuff sometime in 
the future, especially if you want to become a top notch player.  

There is no easy way to becoming a "players" player without doing the 
homework. In order to get to the next level, you have to treat the harp 
like you would any other instrument.  You must practice the scales, 
arpeggios, and intervals in all keys in all positions.  I don't mean you 
have to learn to play the harp chromatically, but you should a least 
experiment with the other availible positions.  It is necessary to know 
at the very least, all the notes on one harp; a C harp would be best.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Eb    EbF#Bb  EbF#Bb/B  OVERBLOWS/BLOWBENDS
C|E|G|C|E|G|C|E|G|C     BLOW
__________________
D|G|B|D|F|A|B|D|F|A     DRAW
DbF#BbDb~ AbDb  AbDb    DRAWBENDS/OVERDRAWS
  F A
    Ab

These are all the useful notes availible on the harp.  Beginners 
shouldn't be overly concerned about getting the overblows immediately, 
but do keep them in mind especially if you want to incorporate them into 
your style.

things to practice if you are a beginner:

Intervals...
Octave jumps.  This exercise will familiarize you with the entire harp.
1st be able to produce a clear resonate note (preferably tongue blocking 
and puckering) pick a note, any note.  KNow what note you are playing. 
Then jump to the same note one octave higher... ex: blow 1(C)to 
b4(C)-b4(c)to b7(c)-b7(c)to b10(c)   then move to other notes draw1(d)to 
d4(d) d4(d)to d8(d) Try to do this up and down the harp.  If you can't 
bend don't worry about them now.  Just be able to pick up the harp and 
play any note and then be able to jump to the same note in another octave.

Try 3rds in any major scale a third is basically every other note.  We'll 
use the c scale as an example CDEFGABC.  It is better to think of the 
notes rather than numbers.  Try playing CEDFEGFAGBAC that's 
b4-b5-d4-d5-b5-b6-d5-d6-b6-d7-d6-b7.
As bending and overblows become more effecient try this in other octaves 
and other keys.

Scales:
If you can't already bend notes then practice the scales availible in the 
middle octave. there are 6 different scales that are playable without 
bends in the middle and upper octaves (holes 3-10).  these simple scales are 
known as the the Greek modes of music.

Ionian: C major scale for our purposes. cdefgabc or b4d4b5d5b6d6d7b7

Dorian:key of Dm. This is 3rd position. Basically this is a c scale but 
starting at a different point. defgabcd or d4b5d5b6d6d7b7d8  

Phrygian:key of Em. b5d5b6d6d7b7d8b8 or efgabcde

Lydian:Key of F. fgabcdef or d5b6d6d7b7d8b8d9

mixolydian: Key of G. this is the cross harp position. gabcdefg or 
b6d6d7b7d8b8d9b9

Aeolian:Key of A minor. AKA Natural minor scale. abcdefga or 
d6d7b7d8b8d9b9d10

Locrian:Key of Bm.bcdefgab or d3b4d4b5d5b6d6d7

As far as scales are concerned.  I believe the scales mentioned are the 
complete minimum amount of scales that a person should know in order to 
expand their musical horizons.  (If you can bend notes try these scales in 
the bottom octave to make them sound really cool)
 
Learning these fore-mentioned scales are the key to understanding music 
theory and different harmonica positions.  I'll have to cover that stuff 
in a later post tho...

If a beginning player knows this stuff then he/she can easily progress to 
the next phase of development.


-Chris Michalek
"Harp players are a peculiar breed in themselves" -Steve Baker