Re: [Harp-L] 2nd position only useful in blues? was changes inlattitudes


On Oct 6, 2008, at 1:19 AM, Winslow Yerxa wrote:

Charlie McCoy does not use country tuned harps (with the 5 draw raised) all the time.

This is true. He frequently uses 2 harps (or more) instead. Very much like I explained the other day when I gave a few examples of what is in my modified address book. In that book I have what keys I use and where I use them.

Another thing he does (and I do too) is to use Piccolo harps. There are tunes where you might want to go to a higher octave but RETAIN the bendability and texture of the harps lower octave but you want to be an octave HIGHER. The piccolo allows that.

As far as I know, I am not aware of anyone else using Piccolo harps. (btw, the vest pocket harp is the same size and tuning as the Piccolo but is in the same octave setup as the standard Richters).

His website states which harps he plays on what records. It's been awhile since I looked, but as I recall he uses special tunings less than half the time.

This is true. In fact, there was a time when Charley used 3 harps to do Londonderry Aire (Oh Danny Boy). He would do the head on a D Richter (for example), and switch to an A Richter (for example) for the bridge. Then after a modulation up a step, he would use the third harp (an Eb Richter for example) to finish the ending head.

I was using ONE harp ( a D smojoe tuned..now commonly known as a double country) to do both the entry head AND bridge and only went to a second harp (Eb Richter) on a key modulation.

We did a couple duets on his birthday back in May and I chose 'You don't have to call me darlin...darlin', and 'I really don't want to know'. I was using double countrys, and Charley used a country and a Richter.

While second position is not for everyone, it seems to be very popular as a primary playing position in a far wider area than the blues, even when its default scale doesn't fit the underlying chords or scales.

This is true. It isn't all that hard to work around the 'natural' in hole #5 draw, but in most cases it should be avoided as it doesn't work all that well. As long as the #5 draw doesn't need to be a 'sharp'
because the note is CRUCIAL, the 5 can be worked around. I would say that on 'Georgia on My Mind', that #5 draw IS crucial, and a MUST, and in that case, you need to either be able to bend it UP or go the coward's way out (like me) and file the #5 draw sharp. And the nice thing is that the sharped #5 draw can be bent down on most tunes as long as the notes aren't coming too fast.

There ARE some times when you don't want to mess with that reed. Like when you need warbles OR you need that note as a natural in a tune like 'Rocky Top', where you are going too fast to get that reed bent down from the sharp fast enough.

Some players are very good at getting around this fact by discretion and note substitution, even without using overblows, valves, etc.

This is true

Then again, not everyone has to follow a path just because it's widely traveled. 

This is true
smo-joe

Winslow

Winslow Yerxa
Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5


--- On Sun, 10/5/08, Dan Berger <dberger1@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

From: Dan Berger <dberger1@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Fw: [Harp-L] 2nd position only useful in blues? was changes inlattitudes
To: "Harp- L" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sunday, October 5, 2008, 5:00 PM
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan Berger" <dberger1@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Buddha" <groovygypsy@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2008 7:57 PM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] 2nd position only useful in blues?
was changes
inlattitudes


Didn't I say that I stay away from that 5 draw?
because it doesn't sound right to my ear on that
type of song. 
Practical knowledge, not technical
And you can bet that Taylor can play it on a harp
right
out of the box.

Maybe I'm just a 1/2 step behind...

Dan
----- Original Message -----
From: "Buddha" <groovygypsy@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2008 7:46 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] 2nd position only useful in blues?
was changes
inlattitudes


Yes but he didn't do it on a regular tuned
harp. The draw five on his
harps were tuned up a half step so he could play
his chosen form of
music.


****

Steve Webb wrote:
I'm glad Charlie  McCoy wasn't aware of
this.. :)
Steve Webb in Minnesota, where I play 95 percent
of the night in 
second position and we don't do any blues.
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