[Harp-L] 12 position, Overblows, and why I like harp

[George Brooks <gbrooks1@xxxxxxxxx>]

Chris M. writes:

>Another position I've been working on since SPAH is 6th.
>george brooks brought it to my attention and I think it's
>awesome and very very under-rated.

Yes, this is true, but I want to make it clear that I mostly play sixth 
position *minor*.  Sixth position is B on a C harp, the root notes (on 
any harp) being 3 draw, 7 draw, and 10 half-step blow bend.  Yes, the 
hole 10 hole bend is a bear, but you don't have to play it to use the 
position effectively.  The advantages of 6th position for playing minor 
tunes are:

1. nice, stable root notes in the first and second octaves (the 
aforementioned 3 draw and 7 draw);
2. nice, stable minor third in all octaves (1 draw, 4 draw and 8 draw);
3. nice, stable flat seventh in all but the lowest octave (6 draw and 
10 draw); and
4. the 3rd and 7th in the middle octave are the 4 draw and 6 draw, 
respectively, which are big, expressive notes.

To me, this is an easier position to play than 12th (with its unstable 
root in the lowest octave) or 11th (with its unstable root note in all 
octaves).

The catch?  The fifth scale degree in 6th position is an overblow in 
the middle octave (5OB).  In the upper octave, it's a regular (but 
admittedly hard to control) blow bend in hole 9.  In the lowest octave, 
it's the 2 draw semitone bend, a tough note to intonate correctly and 
play with a full tone.  Good practice!

I'm comfortable enough in 6th position minor to play out with it (in 
the duet I played with Jimi Lee at SPAH I was using this position).  I 
can't say the same thing yet about 6th position major, which has 5 
sharps.  Dorian minor in 6th has 3 sharps, and Aeolian (Natural) minor 
in 6th has only two sharps, just like third position major.

On another subject, I second Michael Rubin's suggestion to practice 
with a metronome.  The four most powerful aids to getting better, in my 
opinion, are a teacher, a keyboard, a metronome, and a recording 
device.

George