[Harp-L] Figuring out what you're hearing in your head

["John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>]

Being self taught, probably the biggest revelation for me was when i  
began to perceive the relationship of scales to chords (or scale  
tones to chord tones). This provided me with a sort of structure for  
improvisation.  So, I practiced scales.

 Now, not being formally trained and not having the best ear for  
pitch to begin with, scales became really useful to me for  
translating what i'd hear in my head into notes that i could play on  
the harmonica.  I'd get an idea in my head of something i wanted to  
use in a solo, but i wouldn't know how to play it, even if i had  
adequate technique.  Knowing the scale would give me a vocabulary to  
figure out what i was hearing in my head in order to  express it on  
the harmonica. And knowing the relationship of scale tones to chord  
tones helped me know when to express what part of it during a  
performance. A frame of reference.

Those of you who are good musicians can probably identify the pitches  
of the notes you hear in your head.  But I'm still impressed with a  
musician who can look at a piece of sheet music and hum it.  I'm much  
more limited, although I'm a lot better than i used to be.

But, since we've been talking about improvisation, imitation and  
learning to play what you feel, the point i wanted to share with  
those, like myself, who operate without formal musical training is  
that learning scales can be the key to unlocking the ability to know  
what you are hearing in your head well enough to be able to play it  
on the harmonica.  And this is especially true if you don't have a  
well developed an ear for pitch.  Anyway, it certainly helped me a lot.

My next project is to learn more arpeggios.

JP