Re: [Harp-L] Middle C question

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Unfortunately, many harmonica books have muddied the waters about which note is Middle C on the harmonica.

One a standard 10-hole diatonic or 12-hole chromatic in C, Middle C is Hole 1 blow.

That's the actual pitch.

However, it's easier to start students one octave higher, in Blow 4 (on diatonic) or Blow 5 (chromatic), partly because that's where the melody octave starts on diatonic, and because students have trouble with unintentionally bending notes on the first 2 holes on both diatonic and chromatic.

That's fine, of course, but some books will notate that C as middle C instead of the real pitch: C on the third space up. This avoids having to write leger lines above the five-line staff when you play any note above Blow 6. But then when you need notes in the first octave, you start needing leger lines *below* the staff, so these books switch to actual pitch, often without saying anything. The student then is confused.

My take is that the best approach is to notate everything on a standard C-harp at actual pitch, with the exception of the notes above Hole 7 for beginners. At that point you're into two leger lines, and anything beyond that is hard for beginners. Instead, you can write an "8va" with a dotted line above any passage you transpose down an octave, to make it clear that the notes are not showing actual pitch.

Winslow

Winslow Yerxa

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

--- On Fri, 12/18/09, michael rubin <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

From: michael rubin <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx>

<snip>

Then, when you read treble clef, middle C is the C in the third space
up from the bottom of the staff, correct?

Thanks,
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com
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