wowyzowy12
14 posts
Mar 23, 2011
2:54 AM
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Hey all you cool cats out there,
what do you think is the best resources for harmonica tabs on the web ?
preferablly in second poistion
would love to hear opinions and suggestions
thanks in advance (:
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tookatooka
2242 posts
Mar 23, 2011
2:59 AM
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Harptabs.com was a good source for tabs but be careful on there, they had virus issues.
Having said that, a piece of advice. Use tabs by all means to get to learn your way around the harp and get a few tunes under your belt, BUT, get off them as soon as you can and learn your tunes by ear. You'll learn much more that way.
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wowyzowy12
15 posts
Mar 23, 2011
3:13 AM
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Thanks ,
I already know of HARPTABS.COM Maybe there are OTHER ones ?
i like to have as many options as possible. Some intervals i can pick by ear ,some i cant pick up so easily. So having sheet music - tabs i think never hurts. Ofcourse it would be would great to one day play absolutley by ear.
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tookatooka
2244 posts
Mar 23, 2011
4:05 AM
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There are some standards on here but nothing in second position I would have thought. Click a letter at the top to list.
http://1000harmonicatabs.com/
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markdc70
60 posts
Mar 23, 2011
7:26 AM
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www.harpinanawhinin.com has loads of stuff.
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mr_so&so
419 posts
Mar 23, 2011
10:32 AM
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From my experience with harp tabs, I'd be surprised if there is any mention of playing position at all, and often not the key of the song either. So, in that case, you have no idea what harp key to play. Probably most of the contributors of harp tabs don't know what a playing position is.
The best you can hope for is that the contributor figured out note for note what holes to play from a commonly available version of the song, and tells you what harp they used. Then you too can play along to that commonly available version of the song, and can be blissfully unaware of what key the song is in. But then what do you do when you sit in with a band and they call the song in a particular key that isn't the one you know it in? You start with the wrong harp, then busily try to figure out the right one by trial and error.
Here's an example I happened across today. A friend was playing Neil Young's "My My Hey Hey" and wanted to know what harp key to use. You can find harp tab, e.g.
http://www.harptabs.com/song.php?ID=2707. With this you can play the tune, but not know what harp to play without trial and error. Note that this harp tab says "any" in the "key" field (is this harp key or music key anyway?), and there is no "position" field.
So if you rummage further on Google, you might find this site: http://hyperrust.org/Music/?Tuning that shows the tune is played in "dropped standard" tuning on guitar. Guitar tab/chords, show the tune played in Am, but with Neil's tuning, that would really be Gm.
Then we have a look at the harp tab again, and ask what position is this?. If I look at positions charts (see my bio for these), we see that this might be 4th position, which would be a decent choice for playing a minor tune.
Sooo... ipso facto, from the Circle of Fifths, we find that Neil would use a Bb harp to play this tune in Gm, which is what he does.
But my friend plays a standard-tuned guitar, so he's playing in Am. Sooo... he would then choose a C harp.
Even tookatooka's suggestion to just learn to play by ear, although a good idea, does not help you select the correct harp to play a particular tune, unless you know what position it is being played in.
And if the original was not played on a standard major diatonic or standard chromatic, best of luck to you, sir. Your best bet in that case would be to get the sheet music for the tune and figure out what scale is being used, then choose a harp position to suit that, and the appropriate key from the Circle of Fifths.
So even with harp tabs readily available, it's not so simple, but not impossible.
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tookatooka
2247 posts
Mar 23, 2011
11:09 AM
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Phew! Well, he did ask :)
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Last Edited by on Mar 23, 2011 11:52 AM
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Hollistonharper
224 posts
Mar 23, 2011
11:41 AM
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I would just add the question what kind of tabs are you looking for? When I started playing I quickly learned that most sites only tab out simple melodies--not the cool harp parts you want to be able to play. So questions about position and key are pretty moot. If you're looking for tab on how to play the harp parts, I think there are very few free resources. The only one that comes to mind is Glen Weiser's website (google him)-- he has posted some Little Walter transcriptions. I think if you're willing to pay, you'll be able to find a number of sources for actual harp transcriptions. But if you are just starting out and want to play recognizable harp parts and songs in the proper position and key, then you should buy Adams pay lessons available on this site. They are really well done and worth more than the few bucks he charges.
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mr_so&so
421 posts
Mar 23, 2011
1:00 PM
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Well, perhaps, I'm guilty of providing too much information for some folks in my last post, but it does present the general problem of how to select a harp to play song X (even if you have tab for it).
For strictly blues songs, played in second position, this is not such a big deal as Holliston points out.
I should also mention a good book of blues classics with harp tab:
Hal Leonard's "Blues Harmonica Collection Songbook".
It has lots of LW and SBWII songs, if you want to learn them as they were played. Also has the sheet music (and tells you what position the original was played in). Well worth the money.
I also like Adam's lessons for learning tunes.
Thanks for bringing this topic back to earth, Hollistonharper.
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tookatooka
2249 posts
Mar 23, 2011
2:25 PM
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@mr_so&so, I was only kidding. I love to see the way these relatively simple enquiries evolve. Harp geek heaven.
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Hollistonharper
225 posts
Mar 23, 2011
2:37 PM
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Mr so & so, i wasn't reacting to your post at all, your answer was great! I was only trying to share that most free tabs are just melodies , that's all.
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HarpPerL
36 posts
Mar 23, 2011
6:04 PM
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A good source is Adam's lessons found on this site.
Check out Hakans Ehn's and Greyowlphotoart YouTube channels for more tabs and backing.
Not found on the net is Hap tab books as "Blues Harmonica Collection" by David McKelvy and others that to look in to.
Cheers
PerL
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Aussiesucker
808 posts
Mar 23, 2011
6:30 PM
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The good sources are mentioned above. Caution some tabs are terrible.
Take some earlier advice and start training your ear. I usually hunt around for the best sounding version eg from Youtube or a CD and copy it into Audacity where I can slow it down without changing pitch. It also assists in recognising keys. I have also noticed that in playing by ear I sometimes end up noodling in on a pos like 12th or 3rd quite unknowingly and finding I've got it. I think also that learning by ear enables one to take some licence with the tune eg make it your own add flourishes and to even exclude some hard bits until you learn them.
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