arzajac
437 posts
Jan 21, 2011
7:52 AM
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(2011/01/23 - Edited to fix a mistake.)
I have been working on the Pentatonic Scales detailed by hvyj's profile page.
First off, Thanks hvyj! That is very useful.
Secondly, I worked up a graphical representation of it to help me practice. Here it is:
Various formats:
PDF Download this to print up a nice copy of it.
SVG Download this to edit it and improve upon it.
This is what it looks like:
I did this fairly quickly this morning and I haven't picked up the harp since. If you spot any errors, please let me know so that I can fix them. Thanks!
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Last Edited by on Jan 24, 2011 5:39 AM
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tookatooka
2099 posts
Jan 21, 2011
8:20 AM
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@arzajac. Thanks for that. The graphics help a great deal.----------
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ridge
157 posts
Jan 21, 2011
8:22 AM
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Graphically, I think it looks beautiful and professional. Cognitively, I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around it.
Definitely merits several reads. hvyj has been an incredible source of info. It's awesome that you put this together and shared with the rest of us.
THANKS!
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hvyj
1165 posts
Jan 22, 2011
10:00 AM
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Wow. Nicely done and the PDF print out will be handy. I'm flattered that my tab has merited all this attention. It was German harpist who originally suggested i put these tabs in my profile.
For anyone who may be intimidated by 4th position because root in the lower register is a bent note, you can do pretty well just using the higher register as you learn to get around in 4th position--playing the root note in the lower register is actually not all that essential in order to get started.
Use D6 for root in 4th position and if you simply avoid playing root in the lower register you don't need ANY other bends to play in this position. If you want, you can bend B8 for flat fifth (blues scale note). Otherwise, you pretty much want to avoid bending because (in general) bent notes will take you out of key. So, playing in 4th is actually pretty easy once you learn the breath patterns. Besides the minor pentatonic scale I've tabbed out you also have the complete natural minor scale--Aeolean mode--without any bends (except D3** for root in the lower register).
It's also possible to play harmonic minor in 4th but you need certain bends for that.
Last Edited by on Jan 22, 2011 10:05 AM
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Hollistonharper
211 posts
Jan 22, 2011
11:58 AM
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One of my goals this year is to stop noodling and learn some scales. I had been using the Bharmonica Iphone app and a keyboard to work through hvyj's tab, but this looks great. Thanks to hvyj for posting and arzajac for working this up.
@hvyj, you've become an incredibly helpful resource on this forum, thanks. I'm sure a lot of us are really curious about your background, if you've got any music for sale or any posts on Youtube you should let us know.
@anyone who's so inclined--if anyone cares to post mp3s of the scales played on harp, it would be a great starter tool for the musically challenged among us. Just a thought!
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Jim Rumbaugh
382 posts
Jan 22, 2011
1:22 PM
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Different people visualize differently.
This is how "I" see patterns of scales in my head.
I see the scales as patterns of lines and shapes.
Here is my basic blues scale.
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GermanHarpist
1944 posts
Jan 22, 2011
4:46 PM
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Wow, that is cool. I'll print it out as soon as I have access to a printer!
hvyi, may I add another suggestion.. :) if arzajac doesn't mind you could replace your profile text with arzajacs great arrangement.
All you got to do is post the following (or similar) text and replace all the rounded with angled brackets.
-----------------------------------
Download as (a href="http://food.andrewzajac.ca/files/HARP.pdf")PDF(/a).
(img src="http://food.andrewzajac.ca/files/HARP.png")
Graphical arrangement by (a href="http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/members/profile/1614693/arzajac.htm")arzajac(/a).
-----------------------------------
Hollistonharper,.. that's a great idea. Somebody should record hvyi's scales so that they could be added to complete this great piece of work.
Hmmm,... MBH rocks!
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The MBH thread-thread thread!
Last Edited by on Jan 22, 2011 6:06 PM
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GermanHarpist
1945 posts
Jan 22, 2011
4:50 PM
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hahaha ?!? what's going on? The URLs are hyperlinked automatically now? The times they are a changing... hehe.
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The MBH thread-thread thread!
Last Edited by on Jan 22, 2011 5:01 PM
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arzajac
440 posts
Jan 22, 2011
8:47 PM
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Thanks everyone for the great comments!
I found a mistake. I forgot to color in the 2 draw on the first/fourth position diagram. It's almost midnight. I will fix it tomorrow...
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Last Edited by on Jan 24, 2011 4:52 AM
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MP
1295 posts
Jan 22, 2011
10:06 PM
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cool arzaajc!
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MP
hibachi cook for the yakuza
doctor of semiotics
superhero emeritus
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arzajac
441 posts
Jan 23, 2011
5:51 AM
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I fixed it.
hvyj - let me know if you want me to change the disclaimer on the bottom right.
If anyone wants to link the image and the PDF, just cut and paste this HTML code:
<![CDATA[<a href=http://food.andrewzajac.ca/files/HARP-0124.pdf><img src=http://food.andrewzajac.ca/files/HARP-0123.png></a>]]>
Hvyj is attributed on the page itself and you don't need to mention me.
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Last Edited by on Jan 24, 2011 5:40 AM
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hvyj
1167 posts
Jan 23, 2011
6:55 AM
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@arzajac: No need to change anything. I mean, it's not like I invented these scales.
I originally posted these tabs because I don't find that any of the published harmonica instructional materials I've seen teach multiple position playing well, if at all. In reality, none of these positions is any more "advanced" or difficult than another.
Playing harp in different positions is just playing the instrument in different keys. Musicians who play other instruments do this all the time. A tenor sax player whose instrument is tuned to Bb can play G minor using the same scale as he uses to play Bb since Bb is the relative major of G minor. Why don't any of the published harmonica instructional materials teach us to think like that?
Most published instructional materials stop at third position, or may give a very superficial treatment of the other 3 positions saying things like they are "advanced" and "rarely used." Well, they may be rarely used because the popular published instructional materials don't bother to explain them, but to say that they are more "advanced" is, quite frankly, stupid since the relevant scales are accessible using SAME BREATH PATTERNS as are used to play first second and third positions.
From my perspective, it's no harder to learn all six of these positions than it is to learn the first three, and there's no good reason why they cannot and should not be taught and learned simultaneously. I mean, when was the last time you ran into a tenor sax player who could only play his instrument in 3 keys? And if you did, neither you nor anyone else would take him seriously as a musician.
Sure, a tenor sax has a 12 tone chromatic scale available and a Richter tuned diatonic does not (at least not without OBs). So, a diatonic harp is somewhat more limited than a sax--by not as much as the popular instructional materials would lead us to believe.
Last Edited by on Jan 23, 2011 7:02 AM
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oda
429 posts
Jan 23, 2011
7:12 AM
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Hbyj, the man with the golden info!
do you give lessons, man? you make this stuff seem within reach.
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