Any recommendations for becoming more comfortable on the upper end of the harp? holes 7 - 10? I still get real careful when i try to move up to the high end and I feel it effects how I am currently playing as it tends to interrupt the flow at times. And I feel that is one of the areas I need to strengthen in order to move on towards the next level.
I looked thru Adam's lessons but didn't see anything specifically focused on that. But I could be missing something there too :)
Adam talks a little of the high end in the harmony for improvisation lesson. If I remember correctly it's how the high end relates to the low end of the harp.
Martin
---------- Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Isaac Asimov
Watch the meat and potatoes lessons by michael rubin. Or find out yourself how the notes lay. Think about it. The high-end has the higher note in the blowplate. So the bend are on the blowreeds, and the overbends on the drawnotes etc. Practice your major scale 7,-8,8,-9,9,-10,10b,10 till you drop. Start playing the cross-bluesscale 6, 6OB,7, 7OD,-8, -9, 9: it gives you a way to get from low to high in a bluesy way etc. In Lee Sankeys terms: build yourself a brainstrument up there: imagine the notes that work and why. Play the cross-major scale (e.g., on a C harp the G major scale (g a b c d e f# g) and realize that 6 blow is the tonic, 6 draw the II, 7 draw the III and 7 blow the IV etc. Put in the work: be rewarded! I'm going through a fase where I'm learning to put all this to work, and it's exciting!
As mentioned, those bends are blow bends - should they be noted as pluses? I don't know if there is a common nomenclature for this... Just putting that out there.
Example: +8, +9, 9
The top of the harp always annoyed me. I tried Powerbender tuning and I find that I can play what I hear in my head with a lot more ease than with Richter.
Just doing that for a few months made playing the high end of a Richter harp easier. I guess I got used to actually playing music up there and am managing to translate that to Richter tuning, but it's not quite as expressive as Powerbender.
But you can't go to the store and buy a Powerbender...
Is your problem with playing once you're in the upper octave, or is it the flow/transition from the low/mid octaves to the top? I'm no good at the transition myself, but I may be able to help a little when it comes to playing within holes 7-10.
After you work on your scales a little, maybe try jamming in 2nd position for a few minutes ONLY using holes 6-10. If you are really lost, you could just follow along with the chord changes in the most basic manner. (i.e. I: 6 or 9, IV: 7 or 10, V: -8.)
Also, I think that learning to play the high octave in 1st position might help:
Adam has a lesson in the store on "How Long Can a Fool Go Wrong" by James Cotton, and here's a lesson from Ronnie Shellist on Jimmy Reed's style. (Both focus on 1st position, holes 7-10)
Mixolydian mode (Do-re-mi scale with a flat 7th), upper register, second position: B6 D6 D7 B7 D8 B8 D9 B9 Great for blues, among other things.
Major pentatonic scale (1,2,3,5,6), upper register, second position: B6 D6 D7 D8 B8 B9 This is sometimes called the "country scale" but it is also used in a whole lot of R&B tunes and can work as a change of pace for blues.
D10 is a 9th in second position, and is a useful note.
Playing blues scale is NOT the most effective way to work the high end in second position.
To transition up or down hit B5 D6 or B5 B1. Avoid playing D5 when you transition. B5 D6 is a 6th 9th and will sound very smooth and melodic. This is the smoothest way to transition up or down.
The only blow bend that works consistently well in second position is B10** which is a flat 3rd. But that's a hard bend to hit, and even harder to play melodically with good timbre even if you are able to get it. And it's best used in very small and infrequent doses anyway.
Last Edited by on Nov 25, 2011 10:48 AM
@hvyj - How about switching to first position blues scale for the IV measures? It's not a really smooth transition I guess but once there it sounds ok. To get more blowbends I mean. ---------- Pistolkatt - Pistolkatts youtube
@FreeWiily: Unless you OB (and i don't) you can't get the flat 3 or the flat 5 on the upper register in second position. So, you are short two blue notes. This isn't so much of a problem if you play Mixolydian or major pentatonic but it's a very significant problem if you are trying to play blues scale.
If you OB and like the timbre of your OBs then blues scale is an option. But a little variety is never a bad idea anyway.
Also, I'm assuming that the player already knows what notes are where on the harp.
Last Edited by on Nov 25, 2011 4:37 PM
@Pistolcat: Yes, that is doable and is probably the most common approach among blues players. In second position the 8 hole and 9 hole blow bends will work over the IV chord, but, stylistically, I personally don't like it. You can easily get taken out of key if you are not careful and, to me, it often sounds as if the player is looking for an excuse to show off his blow bending rather than making a musical statement that fits. As you say, it's certainly not a smooth transition. Personally, i don't think it sounds all that musical.
If you can break out of thinking blues scale and blues scale licks, you can run around pretty freely on the high end without using any blow bends and sound pretty good. Once you've got the hang of it, it's actually pretty hard to hit a really bad note up there. BUT, you've got to express your musical ideas with note movement instead of bends--which, btw, can be a very nice contrast with what you usually do on the low end playing blues.
Btw, on the vid, you posted on the "Slow Blues--How To" thread, you never go into the high register. Getting up there and working your way back down is certainly one way to put some variety into your playing. A competent harmonica player should be able to PLAY THE WHOLE INSTRUMENT.
Listen to Sugar Blue work the high end. Forget about his speed and how many notes he plays. Listen to his note SELECTION. Very musical and very bluesy. Almost never any blow bends. You may or may not like SB's style. But WHAT he is playing is pretty interesting even if you take away (or ignore)the high tempo rapid fire nature of his delivery.
Last Edited by on Nov 25, 2011 5:10 PM
@hvyj - Thank you for the feedback! You're right about my vid, that's what interested me in this thread. I am learning this instrument bit by bit and would certainly not call myself competent. I practised a lot on the draw three bend(s) after feedback from my first video so that's was my attention in this one. Next up is high end harp. I haven't really got around to it yet. I promise I will go B5 D6 a lot next week or weeks.
BTW - Any comments on my draw three bends?
Sorry for the hijack shadoe42. Great topic and great nuggets from kudzurunner here.
Hahaha! That's a short, polite and accurate comment. Reminds me of my five year old cousin who got a knitted sweater for Christmas. Having been brought up with the commandments to never lie and always be polite he thanked his grandmother duly and said. "It's a very wooly sweater" ---------- Pistolkatt - Pistolkatts youtube
