RE: [Harp-L] Re: The Thrill Is Gone

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Patrick Killeen wrote:
<I'd probably use an F harp in 3rd position, it would be very high but I think it <would work well if you're going for a version similar to BB Kings'.  If that was too <high then I'd try a low F.

The problem with this approach is that the 6th degree of the scale in 3rd position is NOT consistent with the mode that's used in "The Thrill is Gone."  In 3rd position on an F harp (key of G minor), that note is an E natural; the required note for the minor mode used in "The Thrill is Gone" is an Eb.

It's not easy to avoid that note, either, since the turnaround starts on an Eb chord, and the minor IV chord (C minor) requires an Eb too.  You don't want to play an E natural over either of those, unless you want to see the audience spill their beers as they turn their heads to see what is making that awful noise.  You could play the Eb as a overblow on blow 6 on the F harp, or as a half step bend on draw 3.  But it's a lot easier to start with a scale that has the right notes built in, and that means 5th position, or a natural minor harp (which is my preferred solution for this song). 

By the way, I erred when I wrote previously that 5th position (tonic note = blow 2) for G minor requires a Bb harp.  As per someone else's post, it's an Eb harp.  Apologies for my confusion, which I hope was not contagious.     

Regards, Richard Hunter



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