Subject: [Harp-L] learning to play

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

John:  Maybe you aren't looking at the same instructional materials  I've 
been checking out recently?  There are some dynamite tutorials on  YouTube 
courtesy of Adam Gussow, Jason Ricci, Ronnie Shellist (among  others)....who teach, 
show and demonstrate all the positions.
 
I sent in a post with at least 5 of these videos just yesterday (Friday at  
1p.m.) for Igor (the 'newbie with 2 questions')...but have yet to see my  post 
show up onlist.  It's been 14 hours now, so perhaps it's  gotten lost, along 
with other posts of mine. 
 
If I'm feeling well enough I'll dig up the links again and send them to you  
if you want them and can't find them on your own...
 
Elizabeth
 
"Message: 10
Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2009 21:57:18 -0500
From: "John F.  Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] learning to play
To:  harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx


FWIW, I've always been puzzled about why harmonica  instructional  
materials usually teach first and second position, and  then treat  
third position as something more advanced and fourth and  fifth  
positions as really advanced if dealt with at all.

I'm  self taught.  But it would seem to me more effective to teach/ 
learn  these 5 positions more or less simultaneously so the player  
learns  what to do with the instrument in order understand how its  
tonal  layout works and how it can be used to play different types of    
material. Trying to teach/learn the blues scale?  It's  technically  
much easier for a beginner to play it in third position  than in  
second.  But almost all instructional materials start  with teaching  
blues in second.

The same bending techniques  apply to all positions equally.  
Struggling to learn to bend?   Struggle in fifth for a while as well  
as in second as you are  learning. In certain positions there are not  
as many available chords,  but scales are scales. Learn the blues,  
minor pentatonic or major  pentatonic (country) scale in each position  
as you learn them for the  first time. It's not difficult to do.

Harmonica players as a group would  be more musical if they learned or  
were taught multiple positions more  or less simultaneously.  They'd  
also play better because they  would be able to select the harmonica  
that best works for the material  being played instead of being  
limited by the tones available in the  couple of positions that they  
know about, or looking like a deer  caught in the headlights if the  
band calls a minor key.

It's not very difficult if each position is approached from the   
beginning instead of some of them being thought of a something more   
advanced.  For example if a player can play in second, fifth  should  
be no problem.  But i haven't seen any instructional  material that  
approaches harmonica tautology in this manner.  i  certainly can't  
figure out why not.

Just an  opinion.

JP

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