[Harp-L] the flat third

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

Per hazcon:

I find the 1V chord the 'hardest' chord to play during a stock  
standard blues and it seems that people seem to spend an inordinate  
amount of time learning to overblow holes 1&4 to get the flat third  
it they must feel that it is an important note to be able to hit..
I like to do variations on the scale running up the harp from the low  
octave to the top so my thinking is that a quick run on the 1V up  
from (say) 4 blow to the impressive 10 hole bent would be facilitated  
by not having to worry about bending the 8 on the way through if you  
catch my drift.

Rick,

I catch your drift.  But you may be making things harder than they  
need to be for playing stock standard blues as blues is meant to be  
played. The flat third of the I chord is the same note as the flat  
seventh of the IV chord (both are blue notes), so, that's not a bad  
note to play when you transition from the I to the IV and you can  
work licks around that note over the IV chord as well as playing  
around with the flat fifth (another blue note) of the blues scale of  
the key you are in.  it's not tough to play blues over the IV chord.   
No OBs required.  Keep in mind that you can play the blues scale  
AGAINST the chord changes (which is why some musicians claim there is  
no harmony in blues).

Now, an effective, but underused, approach to playing the upper  
register in second position blues playing  is simply to play  
Mixolydian on the high end (major third, flat seventh) which means  
just play on the high end with no bends.  if you do it right, it can  
sound very bluesy. When  running up or down between the middle and  
high registers, try this: Don't play draw 5 or blow 6 but play blow 5  
and draw 6 instead (the sixth and the ninth) which sound very smooth  
and melodic as passing tones.  They are not blues scale notes, but so  
what--they work.  and they allow the run to flow and the contrast  
will  better emphasize the blues phrasing you are moving to or from.

it's perfectly acceptable and authentic to use a major third  
occasionally when playing blues. Blue notes are important, but it's  
not necessary to be bound to the blues scale when playing blues.   
Don't force fit blues scale notes into everything you play just  
because you are playing blues.  A little variety in note selection is  
an acceptable and authentic part of the blues idiom and can serve as  
a frame around the blues picture you are working on creating.

JP