[Harp-L] help with minor positions

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

I do quite a bit of minor key playing, but i never use minor tuned  
harps.  FWIW, here's my take on the effective uses of 3rd, 4th and  
5th positions for playing minor key material.

THIRD POSITION:    Very good for Dorian minors (where the scale has  
flat 3rd, flat 7th and MAJOR 6th and the I chord is minor, IV chord  
is major).  But, in general Third Position is over used by harp  
players trying to play in minor keys, and, contrary to popular  
belief, it  is NOT the best position for playing ALL minor key material.

FOURTH POSITION: Great for natural minors (where the scale has flat  
3rd, flat 6th and flat 7th and BOTH the I chord and IV chord are  
minor).  Can get the entire natural minor (Aeolean) scale without  
having to bend.  The only necessary bend is 3D** to get root in the  
lower register.  Can play blues scale in the upper register by  
bending D8* for the flat 5th.  Has the major 2nd of the natural minor  
scale. Very easy position to get around in, but not  good for playing  
chords.  Terrific for harmonic minors (flat 3rd, flat 6th, MAJOR  
7th)--you just bend 6D* and 3D*** for major 7th and you can really  
wail on those notes.

FIFTH POSITION:  Very flexible, BUT you generally need to avoid D5  
and D9 which are flat 2nd.  Can bend for major 2nd at 2D* and 9B* if  
you need that note.  You have flat 3rd, flat 6th and flat 7th without  
having to bend, so it's easy to play natural minor.  But you can also  
play Dorian minor by bending 4D* to get major 6th.  Perfect for tunes  
that modulate between Dorian and natural minor. Great for most minor  
key blues. Can get the blues scle in the lower register. Btw, the  
breath pattern for the minor pentatonic scale in Fifth Position is  
the same as the breath pattern for the major pentatonic scale in  
Second Position, just starting on a different note, so  playing in  
Fifth "feels" a lot like playing in Second. If you have the skill set  
for playing in Second Position, you already know how to play in Fifth  
Position. Now, the Fifth Position minor key is the relative minor of  
the Second Position major key on the same harp, so you can modulate  
between the the relative major and minor if you want to or need to.   
You do have the minor I chord of the minor key you are in which is  
useful. Very cool phrasing available in this position in all 3  
registers.  I use Fifth Position a lot, but there are some natural  
minor tunes that just fit better in Fourth Position.

IMPORTANT:  When you are playing in Fourth and Fifth Positions DO NOT  
BEND RANDOMLY or you will go out of key!  You have to play NOTES, not  
licks.

Easy formula for playing natural minor in Fifth Position: Use B2, B5  
and B8 for root, avoid D5 and D9, don't bend anything except D3 and  
don't bend D3 more than a whole step.  There's actually more to it  
than this, but if you follow this oversimplified formula, it's  
actually pretty hard to hit a bad note.

Easy formula for playing natural minor in Fourth Position: Use D6,  
D10 and D3** for root, but if you have a hard time hitting D3** on  
pitch, just avoid playing in the lower register.  No other bends  
necessary.  Again, this is oversimplified, but it works.

Hope this helps!

JP