yogi
73 posts
Aug 21, 2014
1:17 PM
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Hello all, I would appreciate any advice with my problem.
I have started to listen to a lot of bluegrass more than blues recently and find difficulty adapting my playing from that of a blues perspective towards something that fits the tunes more soulfully.
I have a dozen or so tunes I am working on which have no harmonica on the tracks. This is good because I can avoid copying somebody elses ideas but I find I am approaching the tracks in the same way I would build up a harmonica line for a blues track.
Does anybody have any tips on the building blocks for approaching playing the harmonica along with fiddle tunes.
Many thanks in advance.
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smwoerner
259 posts
Aug 21, 2014
1:59 PM
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I've been doing more bluegrass lately as well. To really be accepted and fit in with the bluegrass players you need to know and be able to play the melody (both the A&B parts). You'll want to know the chord progression and be able to accompany the changes. You can do this with chops (think mandolin) or repeating chord riffs and long drone notes (think fiddle).
Bluegrass can be a lot of fun and will really get your speed chops up. I think it's best to get really comfortable playing the melody before you start improvising the solos.
Also, a lot of the fiddle tunes can be really fast if you're just getting started with this style of playing. First position is you friend as the fast bends can be killers.
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Purveyor of Optimized New and Refurbished Harmonicas.
scott@scottwoerner.com
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WinslowYerxa
703 posts
Aug 21, 2014
3:13 PM
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Bluegrass is a fusion of fiddles tunes, blues, and jazz. if you're coming from a blues only background, I suggest starting to learn fiddle tunes, as this may be the least familiar aspect to you, while also being a highly prominent component of the style.
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Winslow
SPAH connects the world of harmonica
Deepen your playing at the Harmonica Collective
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Gnarly
1096 posts
Aug 22, 2014
10:10 AM
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May I humbly submit raising at least one note permanently on the harp to be used for this music.
Draw 5 should be the major seventh in cross harp, so tune the F (on a C) to F#.
If you are interested in more, tune draw 9 to the same F#.
I go all the way to Major Cross, as it has all the diatonic notes and also some nice chords.
Melody Maker also very useful for bluegrass, and I am sure someone has them in stock somewhere--
Suzuki now has the Manji in some altered tunings. We have Country, and the "double country", which Suzuki calls "7", as in "C7" for a draw instrument in C.
I suggested to them that they draw lines thru the 7, since that is a (lesser used) symbol for the major seventh (I see a triangle used a lot).
Manji also comes in harmonic and natural minor, but no Melody Maker or Major Cross.
However, the low key Manjis are coming really soon! Low C, D, Eb, E, and F--with different cover plates, so no reed rattle. These will be priced very competitively.
Last Edited by Gnarly on Aug 22, 2014 10:17 AM
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WinslowYerxa
704 posts
Aug 22, 2014
10:17 AM
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Country tuning (raised Draw 5, optionally raised Draw 9) gives you a major scale in second position - when that's what you want.
Some tunes lie better in first position, and some tunes that lie in second position have a flat 7th, so I'd recommend figuring out what tunes need altered tunings (and which ones suit the tune best) and using standard tuning where appropriate (which for me is a lot).
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Winslow
SPAH connects the world of harmonica
Deepen your playing at the Harmonica Collective
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Gnarly
1097 posts
Aug 22, 2014
10:26 AM
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As smwoerner points out, fast bends can be murderous.
That's why I prefer the altered tunings, since they allow me to eliminate bending for pitch for most tunes.
Last Edited by Gnarly on Aug 22, 2014 10:26 AM
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A440
192 posts
Aug 22, 2014
10:28 AM
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I use Country Tuning - I carry the Special 20 CT in 5 different keys for playing bluegrass and country songs, which the band increasingly comes up with. I usually try to pick up the melody and then improvise from there. I tend to use more chords, compared to blues which I play with mostly single notes.
Last Edited by A440 on Aug 22, 2014 10:32 AM
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Todd Parrott
1238 posts
Aug 22, 2014
3:35 PM
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I would suggest listening to Buddy Greene, who has recorded a lot of Bluegrass tunes in recent years. You will discover hat there are many country patterns that work well in several tunes. Sometimes country tuning works well, sometimes it doesn't. Just depends on the tune. Here, Buddy uses a country tuned C harp:
And here he is in 1976!
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