Re: [Harp-L] Help a learner

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Barbara Butler wrote:

>Steve and Thurg are both spot on. ¥ou might also try this site
>http://www.abacci.com/music/tabs.asp

Checking this out on the tunes for A-harp, every one I looked at was
weird in some way.

For instance, Jerry (Ger) the Rigger is written an octave too high,
requiring difficult bends that are not required an octave lower. Same
for High Road to Linton. Wind that Shakes the Barley and Fairy Dance
are both written in 12th position, being in D, with awkward octave
shifts, when they would both be more easily played on a D-harp.

I wonder if this tab was generated automatically or by a non-player who
was mis-applying fairly detailed information.

The information about using harmonica positions is spot on. I believe
pipers do something similar, do they not? Even though the chanter
supplies only one scale, pipers use different notes in that scale as a
tonal center, thus allowing for playing on more than one key.

With harmonica, any new tonal center will give a different flavor to
the default scale, though all scales can be altered by bending notes up
or down in pitch.

Major scale tunes are often (but not always) most readily played in
what is called first position, in which the key of the tune and the key
of the harmonica directly match - a D-tune on a D harmonica, and A tune
on an A-harmonica, etc. 

A standard diatonic harmonica will have three strong chords that
reinforce tonal centers. 

On an D harmonica, the blow chord is D major, throughout the range of
the instrument. This is the home chord for first position.

In the first four holes, the draw chord is an A major chord. Add Hole 5
and you get an A7 chord. This is the second most important chord in the
key of D major (though not always used in pipe or trad tunes). It also
forms the basis for second position. The default scale for second
position is similar to a major scale but has a flat 7th.



By the way, if you start at D and count up five steps (D-E-F-G-A) you
arrive at A, which is second position. Count up five more steps
(A-B-C-D-E) and you arrive at third position. Keep counting up five
steps and you get all 12 positions.

Third position, E on a D harmonica, has a home chord in Draw 4-5-6 and
8-9-10. The scale has a flat 7th and a flat 3rd, known as the Dorian
mode. A lot of SCottish and Irish tunes use this scale, in various
keys. The Sailor's wife, Johnny Wilmot's Fiddle, the Warlock, Sleep
Soond in da morning, King George the IVth, Fingal's Cave, Andy
Renwick's Ferret, I lost my love, There Came a Young Man, Drummond
Castle, Eilean beag donn a' chuain, among many others.

Winslow

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