Re: 3rd Position

[eben ross <ebenross@xxxxxxxxx>]

great post    I play mostly 2nd    some songs are naturlly good in  3rd  
I played with an upright bass player   we often played a jam which he called  around the horn   a  cycle of 4ths     interesting study    sonny boy ( rice miller) plays somthing in 3rd on a recording from 1955 in detroit     I don't feel comfortable in the other(than2nd)
positions save a waltz or two in 1st or a couple in 3rd     I always thought G was 
playen in 2nd so that desirves an other listen.(and an other try)   later Ben 

Mark Wilson <markwilson53@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Does anyone have any idea what percentage of George Smiths diatonic recording were done in 3rd position?  I'm wondering if he was pretty much just a 3rd position guy on the short harp.  I'm also curious if there were any other artists who played diatonic primarily in 3rd position?
 
I find it interesting that 3rd isn't used more often as it has a more complete blues scale than either 1st or 2nd position. 
If you can master the 2 and 3 draw bends you have a usable blues scale up and down the harp. The only note I find myself missing is the D note (on a C harp) of resolution at the high end of the harmonica.  Having that note would be ideal, but it's pretty easy just to slide down to the 8 draw and resolve there.  
 
For me, 3rd position comes more naturally than 2nd.  I'm think I'm wired differently than most, as an example, I write with my right hand, and draw with my left, eat left handed, throw a ball with my right, etc... I think I may be hard wired as a third position player??  At times 2nd position feels like I'm writing a book report while 3rd feels like I'm drawing a picture.  Could be a left brain right brain thing??
 
I know this for sure, I can play a tune in 2nd for a week and still not have it right, but if I try it out in 3rd the music flows out faster, and much more naturally. Has anyone else experienced this?  I'm thinking about putting my focus on 3rd, ala George Smith, and am looking for a little validation from my compadres.  
 
Cheers
Mark 

		
- ---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70/year