Re: [Harp-L] Do teachers & players tend to undervalue first position?

[Larry Sandy <slyou65@xxxxxxxxx>]

Tony, I have been playing first position almost exclusively for over 40 years 
and enjoying it all the while.  Recently I have become interested in learning 
second position and am having difficulty locking in on it.  In fact, I am 
currently in search of a face-to-face instructor to get me started in the right 
direction.  Howard Levy offered to teach me but that would be via videos.  I 
mostly play old (now ) standards from the past century because that is what I 
know and that is what I is.  And yes, many blues can be enjoyed in 
first....perhaps slightly modified, but enjoyable.

Lockjaw Larry
Breathing Music daily




________________________________
From: Tony Eyers <tony@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sun, March 27, 2011 1:57:22 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] Do teachers & players tend to undervalue first position?

For 25 years I focused on 2nd and 3rd position for blues and general 
accompanyment, my own Major Cross tuning for fiddle tunes. I never gave first 
position much thought.

Then I wrote the Harmonica Academy teaching site. I had to learn first position. 
Now I love it. It is a powerful blues position (listen to the opening track on 
Dennis Gruneling's CD "Up All Night). Really great for fiddle tunes as well. The 
trick however is mastery of the 3 draw bend (an A note for a C harmonica). This 
note takes some years to control well enough for tunes, once done, first 
position opens many possibilities.

Tony Eyers
Australia
www.HarmonicaAcademy.com
...everyone plays