Re: [Harp-L] Re: New to the list HELLO!!!

[Cara Cooke <cyberharp@xxxxxxxxx>]

There are some wonderful folks on the list with a wide variety of
perspectives. I am a bluegrass player who takes a stab at the blues
occasionally -- and like my playing of bluegrass, I have found interesting
applications of the blues in several positions, especially 1st. You probably
have played in 2nd and 4th positions in the past and just did not notice at
the time. If you have ever played fiddle tunes like "Old Joe Clark", you
probably did that in 2nd position because of the modal nature of the tune.
What finally clued me in that there was something going on (with regard to
the effect of playing in positions) was that I could find better choices for
the tunes when I played an instrument with a key different than everyone
else. It took a lot of reading before I could figure out what was going on,
but, once I realized what I was doing, why it worked, and that I had been
doing it accidentally since I was a small child, I found the whole thing
quite amusing and eye-opening. It is amazing what we can do when we don't
know what we are doing.
 Keep looking into the 1st position blues. There is some neat stuff there.
But also eventually learn to work with the other positions, especially 2nd,
3rd, and 4th. After working with them for awhile, they should not feel so
foreign to you and can have marvelous applications in a variety of music
forms.
 Steve is right. Blues is built into bluegrass by design. So many
accomplished bluegrass players play awesome blues as well.
 Cara Cooke
www.cyberharp.isonfire.com <http://www.cyberharp.isonfire.com>


 On 10/1/05, Don Grubbs <jgrud@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> I have to say again; "what a great group of musicians gathered here."
> I feel like I've found a HOME!. LOL
>
> I do enjoy the Bluegrass, and I also play folk and old religious stuff;
> stuff I was raised on.
>
> I'm sure I cross over to 2nd position at times. After all these years I
> surly must have.
>
> Suffice it to say, I'm happy to be here,and I've ordered a book for
> playing Blues in first position.
>
> On-ward and up-ward...... Looking forward to more chat....
>
> Best regards.... Don