RE: [Harp-L] 4th Position

["Steve Shaw" <moorcot@xxxxxxx>]

> .......This position is not well suited to blues (unless you are going to 
> over-bend) but is good for >Celtic and other ethnic styles.
> Cheers,
> Rick Dempster
> Australia

It certainly works for many "minor key" Irish tunes, as does 3rd position.  
In this respect, 4th position equates to Aeolian mode tunes and 3rd position 
to Dorian mode tunes.  Both types are always "minor"-sounding tunes and the 
guitar accompanists always want to know the minor-key chords, though for the 
diatonic harp player it seems kind of more useful to think in terms of 
modes.  I'm thinking here of tunes - the majority - that require no bending 
or overblowing to get "missing" notes (they wouldn't be modal otherwise).  A 
very common situation is tunes which are in A Dorian:  the guitarists often 
refer to them as "A minor-G" tunes.  You'd be playing these on a G harp.  
Likewise, E Dorian tunes are often referred to as "E minor-D" tunes.  You'd 
be playing these on a D harp, preferably low D!

Playing modal tunes in "positions" is a pretty natural thing to do in trad 
Irish music.  I was doing it for years before I even knew what a "position" 
was.  The notes are all there on the diatonic harp - all you are doing is 
adopting a different blow-draw regime for each position, which isn't too 
difficult really (he said).  Heheh.

Steve


http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/trad_irish_harmonica
Steve's CD of mostly traditional Irish,  "Blowing Through The Reeds,"  is 
now available!  Hear clips at http://www.gjk2.com/steveshaw/cd.htm

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