Re: [Harp-L] Harmonica Layout Spreadsheet

[<fssharp@xxxxxxxxx>]

wmharps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote .

"Several years ago when I had too much time on my hands I spent a good deal
of it creating an Excel spreadsheet to help me with harmonica tunings and
layouts and how they related to scale notes for different scales and modes.
I've been through more than a dozen iterations of this thing, and for me it
is still immensely helpful.  If you are interested in this kind of thing I
invite you to take it for a spin.  I have made it read-only, but of course
you can save a copy and modify the contents if you want.  I will warn you in
advance that there is a very delicate relationship between the data and the
layout that's necessary for things like scale note highlighting and scale
degree indication."

.<Big Snip>"

 

Tim handed this out at SPAH a few years back for the Melody Maker (? or
Paddy Richter) tuning, and it really opened my eyes.  I did my own for
straight Richter Harp, Pos 1 - 6 & 12, with highlighted layouts for blues
scale and major pentatonic scale.  I called those two pages "The Last Harp
Chart You'll Ever Need".  It made a huge difference in getting me over the
hump in 1st - 3rd position soloing, and helped get a jump start on the
others.  I guess I am a visual player in that regard.  If I can see the
scale layout on the harp, I can quickly incorporate it in my playing.  I
first saw something like this that Dennis Gruenling handed out in a Jam Camp
which I think was scale degrees in pos 1 - 3, but taking the added step of
highlighting the blues and pentatonic scales in an Excel sheet made a big
difference.  Anyway, this is an opportunity to say I recommend checking this
out and a big thanks to Tim and Dennis in converting me to thinking in scale
degrees.  They rock!


Fred S