Hi guys, i have been thinking about scales recently after reading an interview with Jason Ricci in which he said that his style evolved to a very large degree from practicing different scales backwards,fowards and inside out. I am ashamed to admit that i have never learned a scale, not even the blues scale! and i think it's time i did the donkey work that i should have done 4 years ago, i mean scales are really the bedrock and foundation of the music that we make and i think deep down the reason i am so dissatisfied with my own playing is cos it lacks foundations so how do i go about learning and practicing my scales? does anyone have a recomendation for a great resource to do this,i had a look at Adams lessons but did'nt see any dealing with scales. Any pointers would be well appreciated.Cheers Geordie.
Google "diatonic harmonica reference", there is an awesome site that lays out many scales in many harmonica positions. It should be among the first listings. ---------- Shane
Start with pentatonics. On a "C" harp you can get G, A, D and E minor pentatonic scales and Bb, F, C and G major pentatonic scales without overblows or overdraws.
You can play lots of music with just pentatonics and they're easy to expand to other scales: add the flat 5 to a minor pentonic to make a blues scale; add the fourth and major seventh to a major pentatonic to make a major scale.
This would be a GREAT video idea for Adam. I'd buy a video that covers scales only. Maybe even throw in a few different patterns to play em. He might even be able to make two videos, one with scales that contain overblows/over draws and one with scales that don't include em. Just sayin' 7.o.3.
Hey guys, thanks for all of the above, O.W. the vids by Adam are as usual excellent and i agree with Seven Oh Three that a scales based lesson for sale would be a winner. Hvyi thanks for all that info although i think a lot of it will be beyond me just yet!
@geordiebluesman: You can get an incredible amount of musical mileage from just knowing the blues scale, the major pentatonic scale and the minor pentatonic scale if you know when to use which one. Pay attention to what timeistight said.
Don't be intimidated. This stuff ain't rocket science. The scales tabbed out under my profile only require you to learn THREE breath patterns which will enable you to play in SIX positions. Don't make things more complicated than they have to be.
But, to keep things simple, here's three useful scales not tabbed out under my profile.
Minor pentatonic, second position:
D2/B3 D3* B4 D4 D5 B6
Blues scale, second position:
D2/B3 D3* B4 D4* D4 D5 B6 [play D3* as a "blue third"]
Blues scale, third position:
D4 D5 B6 D6* D6 B7 D8
Play these up and down and be sure to get the bends in the proper order when you do. Go slow if you have to.
Also very useful are major pentatonic second position, and minor pentatonic third position, which are included in the tabs under my profile.
Practice this scale (do-re-mi scale, first position) up and down for exercise:
B4 D4 B5 D5 B6 D6 D7 B7 [note the breath shift at 6&7]
You can also get a lot of mileage out of major pentatonic first position for country tunes. This scale is tabbed out under my profile.
Any musician who can play an instrument well has spent time learning and practicing scales. After that, you can start to learn the relationship of scale tones to chord tones.
Hvyj- thanks for the tabs. I'll try em out and see what I get
I'm a very hands on "visual" learner. Reading off a sheet and applying doesn't always get the best results. I think that's why I'm completely hooked on Adams lessions. They're perfect for my style of learning. But if it's not available I'll have to learn to adapt.
7.0.3.
Edited because I'm aware that Adam has two scale based lessions- the blues scale and the country scale. I got them both. It's been a while since I've watched them. Maybe it's time to revisit and see if I missed anything. Perhaps a video covering some other scales.
Last Edited by on Jun 05, 2011 9:04 AM
B=blow D=draw *=half step bend **=whole step bend ***=step and a half bend. The numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) designate the hole (1=first hole, 2=second hole,3=third hole etc.)
This tabbing system is not unique to me, but I forget where I picked it up.
Last Edited by on Jun 05, 2011 4:05 PM
Scales scales scales. That is what commutes are for. Always keep a harp in the car. Get lots of looks from people and might get arrested for distracted driving someday, but I can play scales.
