Re: [Harp-L] Modes, was 3rd Position Tunes

[Jp Pagan <jpl_pagan@xxxxxxxxx>]

--- Dave Murray <dlmurray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

JP sed:
> positions
> > have to do with which key you are playing in
> relative
> > to the key of the harmonica. it doesn't matter
> what
> > scales or modes you are playing, only the key.
> 
> That makes no sense to me. It makes a great deal of
> difference to the 
> majority of the people who play harp since they
> can't play it chromatically.

you don't have to play chromatically in order to
experience how positions and modes are not the same.
my example of the blues scale below needs no
overblows. if you can play the blues scale in G on a C
harmonica, then you can play in 2nd position and you
are not playing in any known mode.

> The operative word is "I". Perhaps "you" can play a
> Bb and Eb on a C 
> diatonic harp. That means that for "you" it is a
> chromatic instrument.

the instrument is chromatic whether you can play it
that way or not. i cannot play the diatonic
chromatically, but it is still possible to play
chromatically. i can't play the trumpet (anymore)
either, but it's still a chromatic instrument. 

> "I" 
> can not play a Bb or Eb on a C diatonic harp. For
> me, and I suspect most 
> players, the modes associated with positions matter
> a lot.

i never argued that modes and positions were not
related. in fact, i've posted about that alot here.
but Mike said they weren't the same thing and you
asked why not, i'm only answering your question.

> Sure there is non-modal music, and for me to play it
> on a diatonic harp I 
> must carefully consider what position I try to play
> it on. I can bend notes, 
> but not OB so I am limited in what accidentals I can
> play. 

then you are a living example of how modes and
positions are not the same thing. 

> Are OB players who say that modes don't matter
> denying the obvious, or 
> taking an opportunity to brag about their skill? 

most OB players i know worship at the altar of Howard
Levy (ok, at the least, they've learned something from
him. or heard of him). and he's a big fan of
understanding the modes and how they "lay naturally"
on the diatonic harmonica. he's just not limited by
that is all. again, my point was only that positions
and modes are not identical. yes, they are related,
they're just not the same. 

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