Re: [Harp-L] The principles of backing

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"John F. Potts" wrote:
<Gary says: Chords provide the best backing.
<
<Of course, there's no right or wrong to this , but I don't  
<necessarily agree. If you try to play chords, you have all the  
<limitations discussed in Gary's post and that assumes that you are  
<playing material with a I-IV-V progression in first or second  
<position.  But what if the tune is not I-IV-V and/or what if you are  
<not using first or second position?  The options for playing chords  
<become even more restricted, and actually you can't fit in on a lot  
<of material that's otherwise playable on diatonic harmonica if you  
<start trying to play chords.

There are two basic limitations here:
1) you can't play any two notes simultaneously unless they both happen to be draw or blow notes.  
2) on a diatonic harp, you can't play any notes in a chord that aren't already present on the instrument, meaning that you're limited to the chords that can be made with a single 7-note scale.

The second issue is actually not so difficult as it seems, given that most pop and folk music doesn't modulate through lots of different keys, meaning that one diatonic scale is often enough. It's a bigger problem for jazz or classical music, but most harp players will never have to play accompaniment on that kind of material.

One way to extend the range of material that you can play chords on is to use some non-standard tunings, which expands the types of chords you have available.  For example, there's no way to play a full major 7th chord on a standard diatonic, but you can play one easily on a Natural Minor, Country tuned, or Melody Maker harp.  You can't play a full minor 7th chord on a standard harp, but you can play it on any of those three harps.

Also, most harp players don't take advantage of the full range of the harp when they're thinking about chord voicings.  Most players don't use intervals larger than an octave, for example, even though wider intervals (like 10ths or 12ths) are not hard to play, and sound very good, especially amped.

For that matter, many players don't take advantage of low-tuned harmonicas to add a different set of tones to their kit.  Playing a low-tuned harmonica is pretty much the same as playing a standard-tuned instrument, taking into account of course that the breathing is not quite the same, and bends on the low end take a lot of practice.

In other words, by extending technique a little, and adding a few new tunings to the rig, most harp players can get a lot more out of the accompaniments they play.  

Regards, Richard Hunter

author, "Jazz Harp" 
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
more mp3s at http://taxi.com/rhunter
Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
Twitter: lightninrick