[Harp-L] Harp-L Digest, Vol 161, Issue 5

[Hellerman, Steven L.]

Sometimes things can sound much more complicated than they are (I should have weighed in on that recent long thread about reading music vs. understanding just enough theory to play some music......)


For a tune in Bb you would play your Eb harp for cross (you don't need a harp in a minor key like Eb minor to play a tune in a minor key).


You could also play your Ab harp. That would be third position, also cross (mostly stay to the right on the reeds, the lower ones usually don't work very well).


You could also play your Db harp. That would be fourth position, which for minor keys means straight harp. (So if it the tune was in a major key, like Bb, you would play your Bb harp -- i.e., first postion -- for straight harp. That doesn't work for minors, so indeed you have to play the "relative major", in this case Db.)


There are folks who would throw in 5th position and 12th position, but that's beyond my pay grade.

Best,

SLH



Message: 7
Date: Fri, 06 Jan 2017 02:54:57 +0000
From: ian osborn <davidianosborn at xxxxx>
To: Harp L <harp-l at xxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Minor vs major question
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        <CAG9GgrPtnBqhOY5wtUhM0aY3a13MEfFOmBXTpgYyKOdZe0Y+Nw at xxxxx>
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Question for those with this type of knowledge... Song in b flat minor so
cross would be e flat minor but only have an e flat harmonica... Would that
work??




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Message: 9
Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2017 10:35:33 +0100
From: S?bastien Fr?mal <sebastien.fremal at xxxxx>
To: ian osborn <davidianosborn at xxxxx>
Cc: Harp L <harp-l at xxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Minor vs major question
Message-ID:
        <CAOV6k-DuSXqxAn3iPPXw_uxrECVmDxH7gLJ5c5N==PaK29LdOA at xxxxx>
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You can play Bb minor scale on any harp, but there are harps on which it's
more easy than others :) To play minor, my favourite position is the 3rd (4
+5 5 +6 6 +6? +7 8 for the natural minor scale, 4 +5 5 +6 6 +6?7? 8 for the
harmonic minor). That would be on a Ab harp.
Another cool position, and which does not require overnotes, is the 4th :
3'' 3 +4 4 +5 5 +6 6 for the natural minor scale, 3'' 3 +4 4 +5 5 6' 6 for
the harmonic minor. That's basically playing in first position, but you
play the relative minor scale instead of the major one. That would be on a
Db harp.
In cross position, scales are : 2 3'' 3' +4 4 +4? 5 +6 (natural minor) and
2 3'' 3' +4 4 +4? +5? +6 (harmonic minor).

Have fun ;)

S?bastien Fr?ma


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