Re: [Harp-L] Circle of Fifths (Circle of Fourths) and Positions

[Mike Wilbur <mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sure I use it occasionally....carry it in my case

Mike Wilbur



On Dec 17, 2013, at 3:58 PM, Music Cal <macaroni9999@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> The circle of fifths is a topic that comes up in music frequently. I have
> never found a use for it. Have any of you? (Reading music notation is not
> my focus. Not presently.)
> 
> 
> On Tue, Dec 17, 2013 at 12:36 PM, harp <harp@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
>> Hi Doug,
>> 
>> I saw posts about organizing harps this way from several people, so I am
>> giving it a try.  I have not really put my mind to the Circle yet.  Long
>> story - I played piano and Spanish classical guitar years ago - very
>> technical approach and read music 100% of the time, but never played what
>> I felt.  Got close with Spanish guitar, but never was technically good
>> enough to just lose myself in the music.  When I started playing blues
>> harp, I swore I would not look at a single piece of theory - I would just
>> play what I felt.  The approach has been much more satisfying (much
>> yielded better results too!).  But as I get deeper into playing different
>> positions and visualizing in my mind the tonal relationships, I keep
>> coming back to the Circle.  There is a lot of Åthere there.
>> 
>> Anyway, this is a very long-winded way of asking you why you arrange your
>> harps that way.  Is it because you can quickly step through different
>> positions as you work on figuring out a tune?  Is it because if you are
>> playing harp you ask for the key and then grab the harp next door for
>> second position blues?  Just curious why this arrangement works for you.
>> I have been choosing a key and then mentally calculating or consulting a
>> Circle before grabbing a harp.
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> Brad
>> 
>> On 12/17/13, 12:15 PM, "Doug Schroer" <dougharps@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> 
>>> Certainly it can be useful to have a Circle of Fifths for reference.
>>> 
>>> However, years ago I started arranging my harps in order of the Circle of
>>> Fifths, and without any mnemonics or deliberate effort I soon had
>>> memorized
>>> the Circle of Fifths.  I still have them organized this way.
>>> 
>>> It was an easy way to commit a lot of theory to memory.
>> 
>> 
>>