[Harp-L] All this Positions and Modes stuff

Jerome P. jersimuse@xxxxx
Sun Oct 28 16:04:34 EDT 2018


Yes, under the condition you oblige the musician to play only with major
scales.
The only problem is that no jazzman would stick to the major scale for an
improvisation.
BTW, as you know, Giant Steps was composed by a musician, John Coltrane,
who used to continuously play on parallel harmonic lines, mixing modes from
different scales (not only major scale), all kind of scales, changing tonal
centers, even when the harmony played by the band doesn't change.
I don't see how one can describe a Coltrane solo with positions (apart from
rendering the positions theory as complex as the harmonic vocabulary &
grammar, which would sound a bit absurd).

Regards,

Jerome
www.jeromepeyrelevade.com

Le sam. 27 oct. 2018 à 23:12, Michael Rubin <michaelrubinharmonica at xxxxx>
a écrit :

> I think so.   And everytime the tonal center changes, you are changing
> positions whether or not you think positions exist.
>
> On Sat, Oct 27, 2018 at 4:06 PM Gary Lehmann <gnarlyheman at xxxxx>
> wrote:
>
> > I approach this tune by examining the tonal centers.
> > So, is that the same thing?
> > Asking for a friend . . .
> >
> > Sent from my iPhone
> >
> > On Oct 27, 2018, at 2:03 PM, Michael Rubin <
> > michaelrubinharmonica at xxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > There are many approaches to Giant steps but the simplest is to shift
> > between three major scales. Why not think positionally?
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Oct 27, 2018 at 3:41 PM Gary Lehmann <gnarlyheman at xxxxx>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> When I was young I had a guitar book that explained music improvisation
> >> using the “box” method.
> >> Later on, I invented the pentatonic scale.
> >> This is a similar concept.
> >> Learn as much as you can, but don’t discount concepts that might be
> >> useful to others.
> >> If it sounds good, it is good.
> >> I would never try to play Giant Steps on a diatonic harp—even the head!
> >
> >
>


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