[Harp-L] RE: Minor Key Harmonicas - Music Theory

[Robert Coble <robertpcoble@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> 
> I have been playing at a jam and one of the guitarists loves to play > in minor keys, Harps of which I have none. My circle of fifths has > minor keys above ? I think, C=Am, G=Em, D=Bm, A=F#m, E=Dbm, > B=Abm, F# =Ebm, Db= Bbm, Ab=Fm, Eb= Cm, Bb=Gm, F=Dm, is > this accurate? I have used it some times and it will sound right, and > other times it doesn't,
> Is there a circle of fifths, for minor keys with major harps or should > I sit out, looked In "Harmonica for Dummies" could not find information. > Is there somewhere else to look?
>> Thanks in Advance Eric S
> 

May I politely suggest that you make your own? The experience will teachyou a considerable amount of music theory in a very short time; it certainlydid that for me.
This is one of those areas where some knowledge of music theory canbe very useful. (Yeah, I know: I'm "crazy" 'cause blues players just gottaFEEL the vibes, man, can you dig it? Don't need to know no stinkin' musictheory - that crap is for strictly white bread players only. AAARRRGGHHH!)
Here is the Circle of Fifths (major keys) laid out in a straight line, with C as the starting point, using the key names on most diatonic harps. (Sorry, but the Circle of Fifths is NOT a reference to how to line up your bottles of booze for testing soaking versus dipping wooden comb harps.)
C-G-D-A-E-B-F#-Db-Ab-Eb-Bb-F
(Please note that there are many FREE Circle of Fifths tools available. Askand ye shall receive.)
Now for a little music theory. The Circle is created by starting on a given reference note (the tonic or 1st scale degree), determining the 5th scale degree of the DIATONIC major scale corresponding to the reference note,and then repeating the process until arriving back at the starting referencekey name.
Since the key of "C" is most often used as the starting point, let's lay out thatmajor scale. A major scale has the following interval pattern (referring to thedistance between the notes): 
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
For the key of "C", that corresponds to the notes C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C (with thatfinal "C" an octave above the starting "C"). Let's number those notes as scale "degrees". (I don't know why they are called "degrees" instead of "numbers";some music PHD somewhere probably wrote a doctoral thesis on it.)
C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8
Hey! Guess what?!? The 5th scale degree of the "C" major scale is "G". Thatmust be the next key name on our Circle of Fifths. Let's repeat the process using "G" as the reference (tonic) note. Referring back to our interval pattern, the notes of the "G" major scale are:
G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8
Whoa! Why an F# instead of a Gb? Because in accordance with the "rules" of music theory, the letter names of notes must be used sequentially and successively with no gaps. (Once we move away from major scales and thecorresponding modes, this "rule" no longer applies; think pentatonic, bebop,etc.) BTW, this is why the key signature of "G" has 1 sharp: there is one note that occurs in the "G" major scale with a sharp (F#).
The 5th scale degree of "G" major is "D". Anyone care to guess what the nextkey on the Circle of Fifths is? You got it, it's "D"! Once more through the process,using "D" as our reference key.
D-E-F#-G-A-B-C#-D1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8
As Linda Ellerbee would say, "And so it goes." Round and round, where it stops, nobody knows. (Actually, it doesn't stop theoretically, but it runs out of practicalusage after one spin around the block.)
Somewhere along about here, some smart a$$ is going to ask about flat keys and enharmonic keys. Sorry, I'm not going to explain that right now. Suffice it to say that if you are willing to work your way through all the keys, you WILL end up back at "C". It's much easier to use a tool to learn this stuff. As a play on anold saying, "A fool WITHOUT a tool is still a fool."
Having chased this rabbit through the briar thicket once, let's look at something else. What the heck is this "minor" key stuff? Well, once we have a particularmajor scale, we can use the various notes of that scale as starting points and obtain different scales with totally different moods (er, "modes").
Music theory names the major scale as the Ionian mode. Since there are 6 more notes in a major scale (excluding the octave, which is a repeat), there are 6 moremodes (scales) available, using the notes from that major scale. I'll use the "C" major scale as the reference major scale.
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 (Scale degrees)C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C (Ionian - major) (REFERENCE MAJOR SCALE)
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 (Scale degrees)D-E-F-G-A-B-C-D (Dorian - minor)
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 (Scale degrees)E-F-G-A-B-C-D-E (Phrygian - minor)

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 (Scale degrees)F-G-A-B-C-D-E-F (Lydian - major)

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 (Scale degrees)G-A-B-C-D-E-F-G (Mixolydian - major)

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 (Scale degrees)A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A (Aeolian - natural minor) (RELATIVE NATURAL MINOR)

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 (Scale degrees)B-C-D-E-F-G-A-B (Locrian - diminished)

WOW! Eight different scales based on one major scale! That certainly opens up a lot of playing possibilities!
Here is where the "secret" (don't let those blues players know about this!) ofusing "positions" comes into play. The "positions" refer to a relationship between the key of the HARP and the key of the MUSIC. If you are playing music in thekey of the harp, you are playing in 1st position (relative to the Circle of Fifths).So, if you have a "C" harp and you are playing in the music key of "C", you areplaying in first position. If you have a "G" harp and are playing in the music key of "G", you are playing in first position. And so forth, ad nauseum around the Circle of Fifths.

But suppose you want a more "bluesy" sound and you've heard that playing in 2ndposition (cross harp) is the best place to play the blues. On a "C" harp that wouldbe "G", the second "position" (going clockwise around the Circle of Fifths. It's actually a major kind of scale, but with a flatted 7th (relative to the "G" major scale). Since one of the "blue" notes is the flatted 7th, it gives a more "bluesy"sound. (You still have to hit the flatted 3rds and 5ths through bending.)
Here's where that little bit of music theory comes into play. On a "C" harp, the"natural" notes (those that don't require UNnatural acts to create) are the notesof the "C" major scale. When we switch to the music key of G, the F notes arestill F notes; nobody has figured out how to switch them automatically to F#.(You chromatic players stay quiet; blues players are too easily scared by allthose choices involving mash the button or not.) So the NATURAL "scale" (actually, mode) that is available when using "G" as the starting note is G Mixolydian mode (see above for the notes).
The third position mode is the D Dorian. This is a minor key, but it does not quite match the classical interval pattern of the natural minor scale. But draw harp is a GREAT way to play the blues!
The fourth position mode is the A Aeolian mode. This is the exact interval pattern for the natural minor scale. HELLO! Here is the actual natural minor scale, carvedout of the corresponding (relative) major scale! That means that we can play ina natural minor key on a major key harp! (Who said that music theory is worthless?)
The fifth position mode is the E Phrygian. Again, this is a minor key, but it does nothave quite the same flavor as the natural minor scale. It has more of a gypsy orMiddle Eastern sound.
The sixth position mode is the B Locrian mode. If you are not into jazz, you are mostlikely never going to find a use for this mode. (I'm sure SOMEBODY will feel compelled to contradict that statement!)
The twelfth position mode is the F Lydian mode. It's another major scale, with a raised 4th (relative to the F major scale).
Why did I skip from 6th to 12th position, and referenced nothing in between? Sincethere are only 7 unique scale notes, there are only 7 modes to be referenced. Thatdoes not mean you cannot play based on the remaining possible starting notes. Itjust means that those other notes are NOT contained within the reference major scale, so there is nothing to be referenced. (And it also means that the tonic noteis going to be either a bend or an overblow; if you are Howard Levy, don't let thatdeter you from playing in any musical key on a given diatonic harp.)
If you get one of those Circle of Fifth tools, you will see that the correspondencebetween keys, notes and positions are (using "C" as our reference):
Key=C--Scale Degree=1--Position=1stKey=G--Scale Degree=5--Position=2nd
Key=D--Scale Degree=2--Position=3rd
Key=A--Scale Degree=6--Position=4th
Key=E--Scale Degree=3--Position=5th
Key=B--Scale Degree=7--Position=6th
Key=F--Scale Degree=4--Position=12th

(Adjust the key names to match the starting reference point on the Circle of Fifths.By now, you SHOULD be getting the idea that you should own and USE one of those tools. I have one I designed in my harp case; I've used it so much that I don't actually need it anymore.)
And now you know why I prefer to play Circular Tuned harps. ALL of the notes ofa particular diatonic scale are available from one end of the harp to the other. If I want to use a particular mode, ALL of the notes in that mode are available. Because of the peculiarity of the Circular Tuning layout, all of the chord TRIADS are available for every scale degree. In short, that means I can play a minor key tune just as easily as a major key tune USING THE SAME HARP. I don't have (anddon't need) a special set of harps for playing in minor keys.
That should provide some food for thought.
And now for a "mea culpa": I LOVE the sound of the blues and blues harp. Pleaseforgive my little tongue-in-cheek jabs at those blues players who insist that ANYknowledge of music theory is bound to reduce their emotive experience and interfere with their creativity in communicating those feelings through their harps.
If that little intro doesn't turn on some light bulbs regarding how to figure outhow to gain more usage from your harps, then I return you to our regularlyscheduled discussion of which equipment will make you sound most like Little Walter, Big Walter, or Medium Walter. More porridge, please, Mama Bear...
Regards,CRAZY Bob







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