[Harp-L] The Case for Learning to Read Music

[Michael Rubin]

Richard,
You say,

The breakthrough comes when you really get that the notes on the music
staff are also harmonica tab – a code language that tells you what to do to
play the note you want to hear. For example, when you see the C note with
the ledger line that is just below the staff, it is always blow 1, no
matter what key harmonica you are playing.

That really confuses me.  1 blow on an A harp is A.

Perhaps you are saying if I want to play a song that is written in the key
of C and play it in the key of A, read it on your A harp from sheet music
written in the key of C as though you are on a C harp and the harp will
transpose the key to A.

Please clarify.
Thanks,
Michael Rubin
michaelrubinharmonica.com

On Wed, Jul 26, 2017 at 7:03 AM, Richard Sleigh <rrsleigh at xxxxx> wrote:

> The Case for Learning to Read Music
>
>
> I’d like to share an article I wrote for The magazine “Harmonica World” on
> learning to read music. Harmonica World is published by the National
> Harmonica League in the UK and is well worth the price of the subscription
> for the wealth of knowledge and connection it provides.  (
> www.harmonica.co.uk )
>
>
> I am primarily a diatonic harmonica player, one of the most extreme
> transposing instruments on the planet. So any consideration about learning
> to read music has to take this into consideration.
>
>
> This article tackles the subject of developing the skill of sight reading
> for the diatonic harmonica player head on, and why I think David Barrett’s
> system of Sheet music with harmonica tab is the ideal gateway drug into
> this new world of mastery. The magazine article included an illustration of
> some sheet music in David’s system, but you can find examples easily by
> going to his website (link at the end of the article)
>
> :
>
>
> The Musical Cartography of David Barrett
>
>
> Picture what your life would be like if you could not read the words you
> are now reading. It’s hard to imagine, right? Reading words gives you the
> power to sift through thousands of ideas in a fraction of the time it would
> take you if you were learning them “by ear”. It’s a life-changing skill
> that you take for granted.
>
>
> What if you suddenly lost the ability to read? What would you pay to get it
> back?
>
>
> Most harmonica players never experience the value of sight-reading music
> because the process seems too tiresome and painful to even consider. If you
> play the blues harp, even thinking about thinking about reading sheet music
> is probably enough to make you want to go take a nap. I can relate!
>
>
> The first time I saw David Barrett’s sheet music with harmonica tab years
> ago my reaction was – get me out of here!
>
>
> I was a guitar slinging, blues harp playing folk musician. Reading music
> was for classical musicians, not rebels like me. When I did reluctantly try
> to read music I felt like I was in kindergarten. Every time I switched keys
> I had to start all over again. The thought of memorizing all 12 keys of
> harmonicas and connecting them somehow with 12 different keys of music,
> dealing with those swarms of sharps and flats in the key signatures, was
> about as appealing as eating a light bulb and washing it down with a shot
> of gasoline. All pain, no gain.
>
>
> I am now 65, learning to sight read on the diatonic harmonica and enjoying
> the hell out of it. What changed? I finally figured out what David has been
> up to all these years, and it is a lot easier than I thought it would be. I
> now see the gain as huge compared to the pain.
>
>
> What David asks you to do to use his system is this:
>
>
> 1. Memorize the note layout of a key of C diatonic harmonica in Richter
> tuning.
>
>
> 2. Connect playing the notes of this harmonica to the notes you see in
> sheet music written in the key of C.
>
>
> 3. When you play other key harmonicas, think in the key of C and pretend
> you are playing a C harmonica. When you do this, you are using the Key of C
> harmonica as a model or archetype of the note layouts of all the other
> harmonicas. One way you can do this is to say to yourself, “If I were
> playing a C harmonica this would be the G chord” – or something like that.
>
>
> The breakthrough comes when you really get that the notes on the music
> staff are also harmonica tab – a code language that tells you what to do to
> play the note you want to hear. For example, when you see the C note with
> the ledger line that is just below the staff, it is always blow 1, no
> matter what key harmonica you are playing.
>
>
>
> At first you listen to the music you want to learn and jump back and forth
> between the sheet music dots and the harmonica tab under the staff while
> you play your harmonica. As you progress, you spend more time staring at
> the sheet music and less time jumping down to the harmonica tab.
>
>
> Eventually you don’t need the harmonica tab except in very rare cases.
>
>
> You are now feasting your eyes on all the other richness of sheet music
> like the shape of the dots going up and down, the timing cues, the way
> silence is represented. David’s system is the kindest, most gentle way to
> ease into sight-reading that you could hope for if you play the blues
> harmonica.
>
>
> This idea of writing music in the key of C to represent the notes on a key
> of C harmonica is easy to understand if you are playing in first position.
>
>
> But what happens when you play your archetypal C harp in key of G (second
> position) or key of D (third position)?
>
>
> You can settle this issue with a bit of music theory. You can use the notes
> of the C major scale to create other scales. These other scales are called
> modes. The usual names for these other scales are Greek words because, hey,
> why go plain when you can go fancy?
>
>
> Let’s stick to first, second, and third position on the C harmonica to
> illustrate the way the C scale system works so well for blues in
> particular, and most other forms of music.
>
>
> The Greek name for the C major is the Ionian Mode. That gives you first
> position. It gives you a straight up plain major scale.
>
>
> For second position, use the G of the C scale as your root and you get the
> Mixolydian Mode. This mode is a major scale with the last note a half step
> lower- the flat 7, which is a blue note.
>
>
> For third position, use the D of the C scale as your root and you get the
> Dorian mode. It is a minor scale that has two blue notes in it. The third
> note of the scale and the seventh note of the scale are both a half step
> lower than the notes of a major scale, so they are called flat thirds (b3)
> and flat seven (b7).
>
>
> When you check out David’s sheet music you will also see a lot of harmonica
> specific markings that can be intimidating at first. My approach has been
> to focus first on the notes, and go back later to decode the other
> markings.
>
>
> When you can read C scale sheet music, a whole new world opens up to you.
> If you want to learn a song that is available as sheet music, you now have
> the option of ordering it transposed to the key of C if you are playing in
> first position. This is now a common option if you are ordering sheet music
> as a download product. This gives you a version of instant harmonica tab. I
> recently got a book of Jazz standards all written out in the key of C.
>
>
> If you want to play in second position or third position, you would order
> sheet music in G for second position or D for third position. This would
> keep your root note in the right place. At this point, you would have to
> keep in mind the notes in those keys that are sharp.
>
>
> You just take one step at a time. I have found that since I started working
> with David’s materials, that decoding normal sheet music in keys other than
> C is a lot easier than it used to be.
>
>
> If you have any desire to learn to sight read, you can’t go wrong
> experimenting with C scale sheet music. David has blazed the trail and made
> the maps. Learning to read them is a skill that will pay off big time once
> you hit your stride.
>
> Resources:
>
> David Barrett:  BluesHarmonica.com <http://bluesharmonica.com/>
> --
> Richard Sleigh
> rrsleigh at xxxxx
> http://hotrodharmonicas.com
> http://rsleigh.com
>