"Equinox" "Afro-Blue" "Dust in the Wind" "All Along the Watchtower" (Dylan played the original in 4th)
Aeolean is natural minor. BUT in 4th position it is also possible to play harmonic minor by bending root a half step to get major 7th. For blues, 8 blow bend is the flat 5th. Root in the lower register is 3 draw bent a whole step. Root is also found at 6 draw and 10 draw.
But DO NOT bend randomly playing in 4th or you will be taken out of key. Except for root in the lower octave, you've got all the notes you need to play natural minor without bending. Useful position to know.
Last Edited by on Dec 07, 2011 8:39 AM
Bending mostly randomly is okay though. 1 bend, 4 bend , 7 and 10 overdraws are major thirds and most people do not want to hear that during a minor song.
Although there are many minor scales and each has a chord progression that it is diatonically in line with (all the notes in the melody and the chords relate to ONE scale), the truth is most audiences are very forgiving when it comes to playing chromatically (choosing notes not found in just one scale) during most minor progressions.
Hvyj and I seem to disagree on this point.
Why not learn all the minor scales and which chord progressions will be diatonic to them, and then break the rules by playing chromatically, use your ears and decide for yourself what works for you.
Most audiences don't know the difference, but most bandleaders I work with do. I'm generally given significant artistic freedom, but I'm usually expected to stay in key...and I usually do. If i didn't, I'm not so sure I'd have as many gigs. Bending randomly when playing fourth or fifth position in a minor key provides more adventure than I can ordinarily handle in an ensemble performance setting. But, YMMV.
I've posted this before, but I'll post it again since the subject is 4th position. I like to do an exercise in 4th position playing to a I,IV,V in a minor key with a C harp. When I'm playing on the I, I'll work in the Aeolian mode in A. On the IV chord I'll play a Dorian mode in D, and on the V, a Phrygian mode in E. ---------- myspace
