Re: [Harp-L] Harmonica Karma Sutra

[IcemanLE@xxxxxxx]

Take the "G" harmonica and go down one octave, so your first "F" is on 2  
hole inhale second bend. It is easy to see that you need pretty confident  
bending technique to arrive at a few of these notes. Proceeding up the scale,  
you'll need a 6 hold OB in order to get that "F" at the upper end.
 
You would use 12th position for two reasons - it gives notes that  have the 
ability to bend at different places than in 1st, so you may wish to use  
the bends expressively. 
 
The second reason is that, in 12th position, you have the ability in the  
lower octave to play a flatted second (or minor 9th), flatted third, flatted  
fifth and a flatted sixth. Dominant seventh needs OB on hole 4 - not too  
terribly difficult.
 
What this does is give you all the chromatic notes within one octave and  
only one OB. With all these notes available, you can pretty much play the 
melody  to any tune - jazz, pop, standard, blues - as all the notes are 
achievable. Even  without the OB technique, you get 11 of the 12 chromatic notes.
 
More advanced players with good control of inhale bending techniques and  
only one OB needed can explore more music in this range without having to 
deal  with so many OB's or blow bends to pitch.
 
Even if you do 12th position only in practice, it will strengthen your  
inhale bending technique for the position playing you enjoy.
 
 
In a message dated 7/8/2009 4:13:49 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
derwood.blues@xxxxxxxxx writes:

The  "standard" C scale is C D E F G A B C.
On a G harmonica without bending you  get C D E F# G A B C. the F# is in 
draw hole 7 so you might be able to bend it  to F. 
Now unless I want to go out of the standard scale with bends why  would I 
use this? 

I use second position so that I can have the flat 7  as well as be able to 
easily bend down the 3rd and 5th. So I am departing from  the "standard" 
scale. 

So what specifically do you gain in the 12th  position? A flat 5th? So it 
might have advantages for blues but what is the  advantage over 2nd position?


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