[Harp-L] All this Positions and Modes stuff

[Michael Rubin]

Although it might be unwieldy to describe a song that changes tonal centers
via positions, every time you play a harmonica during a portion of a song
with a tonal center, you are using positions.  Just because it is not very
useful, does not mean positions go away.

On Sun, Oct 28, 2018 at 3:04 PM Jerome P. <jersimuse at xxxxx> wrote:

> 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!
>> >
>> >
>>
>