Re: [Harp-L] the practicality of 4th position

[Michael Rubin <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx>]

Personally I love 4th position blues but would probably not play it on a
blues gig, more in a bluesy song in a non blues band or at a jam among
friends or at SPAH.  To me, blues is a traditional music and I tend to play
it pretty straight.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com


On Fri, May 31, 2013 at 12:44 PM, Arthur Jennings <timeistight@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> Oops!
>
> Michael Rubin points out my brain fart: Bb is the diminished fifth in E
> (4th on a G harp), not Db.
>
>
> On Fri, May 31, 2013 at 9:56 AM, Arthur Jennings <timeistight@xxxxxxxxx
> >wrote:
>
> > The note that holds me back from playing more 4th position blues is the
> > diminished fifth, e.g., Db on a G harp. It's only as 1 or 4 hole
> overblows
> > (very tricky) or an 8 hole blow bend (pretty high, even on a G harp).
> >
> >
> > On Fri, May 31, 2013 at 9:20 AM, Mick Zaklan <mzaklan@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> >>    I'd refer anyone curious about 4th position to my post on 5/1/10,
> "4th
> >> position, a blues overview".  I think 4th may be the most
> >> under-used practical blues position out there right now.
> >>    I'd back that up with two SPAH anectdotes.  At the Sacramento
> >> convention
> >> I used it in the jam circle.  Mark Hummel was in the circle at that
> >> time.  When Mark was leaving the convention, Rupert Oysler asked him if
> >> anyone's playing had caught his attention during the previous night's
> jam.
> >> Mark told him somebody a few chairs down had intrigued him because he
> >> couldn't figure out the position being used.  After a few questions,
> >> Rupert
> >> figured out it was me.  I was playing standard Jr. Wells licks, but
> >> playing
> >> them in the key of A on a C harp.
> >>    At a Jimi Lee hallway jam the following year, I played a solo in E
> on a
> >> G harp.  Jimi stopped the jam on the spot, and asked me what harp I had
> >> just used.  He loved the sound of it.
> >>    Neither of these two incidents were minor key tunes.  They were major
> >> key, standard blues that everyone else was using a cross harp on.  It
> just
> >> required a couple of bends to make this "minor" position sound "major".
> >>
> >> Mick Zaklan
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Arthur Jennings
> > http://www.timeistight.com
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Arthur Jennings
> http://www.timeistight.com
>