Re: [Harp-L] 4th tips

[Michael Rubin <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx>]

Phil,
I again disagree.  You can play any position in any scale.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com


On Fri, May 31, 2013 at 10:34 PM, <philharpn@xxxxxxx> wrote:

> I looked over your two posts and probably agree with 105% of what you said.
>
>
> What possibly makes it difficult to understand is that you're talking head
> arrangements. And for some people, this is like doing long division in
> their heads.
>
>
> Basically, 4th position (A minor) is the relative minor of C. In other
> words, the A minor scale uses the white piano keys of the key of C. Instead
> of starting on the C note; start on the A note and play the white keys
> until reaching the next A.
>
>
> The key to understanding positions is the Circle of Fifths, which starts
> clockwise from C (no sharps) and goes up a fifth to G (1 sharp) and then to
> D ( 2 #s), then A (3#s) and E (4#s). Most people now agree with the Circle
> of Fifths. So much for the naming convention.
>
>
> What makes this Circle of Fifths theory/explanation problematic is the
> fact that due to the limitations built into the Richter layout, some of the
> keys in the Circle of Fifths are minor.
>
>
> What might make 4th position easier to understand is to write on a melody
> in standard music notation with harmonica under it like David
> Barrett does on his web site and in his dozens of books published by Mel
> Bay.
>
>
> By having the tab/notation of a song, it's just a matter of playing it
> back to understand how it sounds.
>
>
> Like somebody once said at SPAH, music is like third grade math.
>
>
> Phil
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mick Zaklan <mzaklan@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: harp-l <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Fri, May 31, 2013 5:47 pm
> Subject: [Harp-L] 4th tips
>
>
>    Well Stephen, I almost hate to re-post this.  The first time around, one
> of our list members was so confused by it that he emailed me offlist:
>
> "Waa....huh....eh....whasthat....umm???"
>
>    So I guess my convoluted methodology really confused him.  But it's how
> I learned it, so here's my original posts. The first one was kind of an
> intro to the subject:
> http://harp-l.org/pipermail/harp-l/2010-May/msg00011.html.
>
> The second one was actually playing tips, and that's probably where the guy
> came to the conclusion I was nuts:
> http://harp-l.org/pipermail/harp-l/2010-May/msg00012.html.
>
> Maybe he was right.  And it's not a Jimmy Reed sound, though I think there
> are some similarities between 1st and 4th.
>
> Mick Zaklan
>
>
>