From: "John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>
Date: July 18, 2010 12:43:11 AM GMT-04:00
To: michael rubin <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Playing in majors/minors
Michael,
I am self taught, play no other instruments and have no formal
music training. A musician who doesn't know where the notes are on
his/her instrument is not a basically competent musician. Being
able to PLAY those notes competently is an advanced skill.
It's simple on harmonica, because if you know the locations of the
degrees of the scale in different positions on ONE harmonica, you
know them all because it's the the same for all 12 keys. The
problem is that all the published instructional material teaches
POSITIONS (not scales) and teaches the positions one at time
(usually stopping at third).
A simpler and easier way to do it would be to teach scales and
teach the student to play the particular scale in several positions
simultaneously since none of the 6 most common positions is any
more "advanced" than another. In fact, it's easier to play the
blues scale in third position than in second because fewer bends
are required. It's easier to play the minor scale in fourth
position than in third because if you start on draw 6 NO bends are
required and there are no avoid notes. If you can play the major
pentatonic scale in second position, the same breath pattern is the
minor pentatonic scale in fifth position. If you can play the
minor pentatonic scale in third position, the same breath pattern
is the major pentatonic scale in twelfth position. The major
pentatonic scale in first position is the same breath pattern as
the minor pentatonic scale in fourth position. So, if a player can
learn the breath patterns for THREE 5 note scales, the player can
automatically play in SIX positions well enough to improvise. It's
easier than learning to play the blues scale in seond position well
enough to improvise.
This is NOT hard--we think it's hard because all the instructional
books make it hard by teaching in a manner that make s it seem a
whole lot more difficult and complicated than it actually is.
FWIW,
JP
On Jul 18, 2010, at 12:03 AM, michael rubin wrote:
After years of teaching I believe having a basic knowledge of scales
and knowing your harp well enough to know which holes are which scale
degree IS an advanced understanding. It is not easy for everybody.
But, everybody CAN learn it.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com
On Sat, Jul 17, 2010 at 10:13 PM, John F. Potts <hvyj@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Bill Kumpe writes:
I'm kind of a simple method player. For the most part I play
first, second
and third position only. Somebody correct me if I am wrong but
isn't the
"easy" minor the third position aka "slant harp", one step up
from the key
of the harp?
Bill,
Using third position is the conventional wisdom for playing a
Richter tuned
harmonica in a minor key and is supposed to be good for blues.
Well, in my experience, for certain minor key material third
works fine.
Fifth position also sounds great for minor key blues, and sounds
BETTER for
NATURAL minor key blues than third position. You CAN use third
for natural
minor but you've got to be careful to avoid the major 6th which
is limiting.
After i learned fifth position, I became able to play all sorts
of material
i could never play on a diatonic before, and i found that I could
play more
fluidly and musically on minor tunes using fifth. I didn't have
to play the
harmonica like it was a harmonica. It changed how i thought about
playing
the instrument and how i approached playing minor key material
You know, learning multiple positions is just learning to play
the harmonica
in different keys, which is something most players of other
instruments do
as a matter of course. I don't OB, so i can't play a harmonica
in 12 keys.
But i can play in 6 positions. And i don't consider it something
that's
difficult to do or "advanced." There are common breath patterns
that work
in different positions, and it's really just a matter of knowing
what hole
to start on and what hole is what degree of the scale in which
position.
It's not rocket science and doesn't require sophisticated musical
knowledge--just a basic understanding of scales (or a good ear,
which i am
not blessed with).
IMHO, third position is a useful way to play CERTAIN minor key
material but
is not a "one size fits all" approach playing in minor keys.
You really
limit what you can play if you ONLY use third to play in minor
keys. And
playing in third is not particularly "easy." Fifth position is
actually
easier to play than second or third because there are fewer bends
required.
Think about it.
FWIW.
JP