Am I alone in being useless in 1st position? Is there too much pressure to learn 2nd and then 3rd or am I just lazy? The difficulty is that 2nd and 3rd mainly rely on drawing, whereas first, involving primarily blowing, is like a mirror image and needs special practice.
In the low end there is a lot of drawing. All the 2 draw notes and the 3 draw half and whole step bends are very important for 1st position blues. And the 1 draw an d 4 draw see some action in the V chord too. Certainly the high end is largely blowing though.
Andrew, I felt pretty much the same way for a long time. I've started to translate a lot of what I know in 2nd position back into 1st.
I do think a part of it can be laziness, because it does require some mental work to figure out what you can play; it's definitely not all blowing, but I get where you're coming from!
The other part is that many players are weak at blow bending/scared of the upper portion of the harmonica and weak at 2 and 3 hole bends. So it makes it almost a non-starter to sound good.
My best suggestion is try spending some time thinking of what you play in 2nd and trying to figure out how it could be done in 1st. Start simple.
If you think about chord changes as position changes then in 2nd position you are doing the following over the I,IV,V (2nd,1st,3rd)
If you take this same idea and move to 1st position you are doing the following over the I,IV,V (1st, 12th, 2nd)
We can use the following as a starter exercise 2nd Position I Chord: -2 -3 -4 IV Chord: +1 +2 +3 V Chord: -1 2' 3"
1st Position I Chord: +1 +2 +3 IV Chord: 2" 3" +4 V Chord: -2 -3 -4 ---------- Ridge's YouTube
1st is critical... some tunes and keys absolutely call for it and you need to be able to use everything you can in the limited world of the harp. There's some basic phrasing in the low octave that relies on 2-draw (bent and unbent), and 3-draw half-step bend. Get a few of those licks under your belt and your halfway there.
Listen to Winsow's examples. Trust my Baby is really hard tho, I've tried.. :) ---------- 4' 4+ 3' 2~~~ -Mike Ziemba Harmonica is Life!
For me, the real challenge of 1st position is that IV chord, particularly on faster tunes, where the IV chord is like a real release/chord change in the song and you need to play along with that and make it sound tasty with good intonation. You can hear it in the samples above, how each player navigates it. On slower blues its easier—use dramatic pauses and scoop into the 2 draw whole step bend, but on faster numbers, at times, you need to have some multiple-note licks. It's difficult to do well, and many great players blow it off by playing a 4/5 warble or something that just kind of fudges the whole thing. I'm still trying to figure it out but that Rhythm Willie song is KILLER. "Trust My Baby" and the Jimmy Reed stuff are always thought of as the standard for 1st position study and are awesome, but those older guys from before the electric blues boom are really, really good at that stuff that doesn't just sit in a medium or slow shuffle beat...
Here is another example - Carey Bell and Big Walter - "Trouble in Mind." This one makes you play at both the top and bottom ends of the harp.
Last Edited by Rgsccr on Aug 02, 2018 10:33 AM
I've found that, in 1st position, players tend to steamroll right over the chord change in the IV. I see people using a lot more repetition and variation of the ideas they've introduced in the I chord. I wonder if this is because that IV chord (in first position) requires such precision bending.
I'm not suggesting these players are lazy or bad musicians. Repetition and variation is so important in music. Just an observation. ---------- Marc Graci YouTube Channel
when I first picked up a marine band.....I learned melodys......by the numbers and blow/draw note arrows......I was playing first position.....but did not know it......it was a great beginning
I know 1st is pivotal to being a well rounded player. Jimmy Reed and others mentioned opened the door for me.
Since we do other genres in the duo I have had great benefit with 1st position harp parts on some things, even some we have written and recorded.
I get to do the guitar parts on Comfortably Numb and even Bowie's Seven, let alone some seminal blues songs. We do some Dylan material where my 1st position part is a true gas to play.
A fun one to do in first is Bach's "Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring". I used it as a vehicle to get my first position chops in order, and it opened up a lot of possibilities in my 2nd and 3rd position playing. I'd gotten in the habit of skipping most blow notes; this added them back to my repertoire.
Plus, it's fun to pull out as a solo piece at a jam or a gig. Nobody expects it, and it gets a great reaction from the crowd. Apply some chorus and/or reverb for an organ effect.
Garry, I agree with you on Bach as a good first position exercise and generally useful repertoire. Jesu Joy modulates at the end as written. This can be done by switching to 12th position (requires 6 overblow in high reg) or changing harps. As Buddy shows, it also works fine without the modulation.
That Sheep may Safely Graze is another good first position Bach, as is the Bach version of Ave Maria, though that one requires a couple of overblows.
In general, any familiar major melody is good for a first position exercise. Hymns are great if you know a lot of them. Most of them can be played pretty easily in first.
I always loved Big Walters "Trouble In Mind" but his "La Cacuracha" is another great 1st position exorcise as is Carey Bell's Heartache and Pain" and SB2's Highway 69 all in A and SB2's "Trust My Baby" in G and Steve Freund's "My little Play House" again in A
Here's an exercise for you Andrew that I sometimes do: choose your key, then pick up two harps, one for 1st position, the other for 2nd, and switch back and forth playing the same tune, even in the middle of a phrase. You'll quickly develop muscle memory that will allow you to change back and forth between blow and draw. To any untrained ear it will sound like you are playing two harps of the same key.
