Re: [Harp-L] Don Les / arpeggios

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Michael Rubin wrote:
<<Richard says:
<<Sure, it's always important to know how a chord relates to the key you're
<<in.  I'm all for it. Every player should know how chords work. But the
<<technique for playing an arpeggio does not change when the position changes.
<<
<True, but as you move from harp to harp, the technique and hole order for
<playing the cross harp blues scale never changes,  barring muscle control
for lower or high harps.  And it is the same for any melodic line, which is
exactly what an arpeggio is, a melodic line.  That is the POINT of
positions, learn it one time and switch harps, you are in the same position
and the harp changes the key for you.

First, an arpeggio is not a melodic line--it's a broken chord.  Its function may or may not be melodic.  There are plenty of examples from the classical music canon of arpeggios used for a rhythmic and/or harmonic function, for example.  

Second, I don't understand the above argument at all.  So you change harps and the key changes.  So?  Or rather, so what?  How does that affect the playability of a C arpeggio on a C harp?

My argument is this: you play a C major arpeggio on a C harp using the same techniques and the same notes, REGARDLESS OF THE FUNCTION OF A C CHORD IN THE KEY YOU'RE PLAYING IN.  The argument has nothing to do with changing harps.  

Any questions?

Regards, Richard Hunter

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