rpavich
13 posts
Jun 18, 2013
6:05 AM
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This might sound dumb but since I'm a noob and am working my way through playing a 12 bar blues I found a way to find "lines" on the harmonica.
Some background: I have 30 years of playing guitar behind me, so I KNOW how to play lines, and what are strong and weak notes against certain chord types...but of course...I don't know WHERE they are on the harmonica yet.
So...I found that if I could hum a line (against a backing track)then I used an online tuner to tell me what notes I was humming, then I just went to a harmonica "note chart" and wrote down the blow and draw positions!
Rather than poking around, at this point it was much faster for me.
One day soon, I hope to KNOW where the notes are located easily enough so that I don't have to do this but for now..it works for me.
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The Iceman
925 posts
Jun 18, 2013
6:15 AM
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not bad...
however, concentrate on learning where all the notes "live" on the harmonica first. In the long run, you will progress faster.
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The Iceman
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FMWoodeye
669 posts
Jun 18, 2013
6:28 AM
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Make sure you have a harp in the correct key. (I'm about 91% sure you did.) You'll probably want to play in second position for blues, at least starting out; and although the notes are "available" in any key harp, the bends and breath patterns work out nicely in second position. So, for example, if you want to play in the key of E, you would use a harp in the key of A.
Last Edited by FMWoodeye on Jun 18, 2013 6:30 AM
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rpavich
15 posts
Jun 18, 2013
7:14 AM
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FMWoodeye,
that's what i'v been doing...2nd position.
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Greg Heumann
2209 posts
Jun 18, 2013
8:08 AM
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If you think about the notes numerically by their relative position to the root, it will be much easier to deal with music in different keys without having to use a chart for each different harp. - I.e., in the key of C, the C7 chord is the I chord, the F7 is the "IV", G is the "V", etc - now all you think about is "I need to go to the "IV" - on an F harp (2nd position for music in C) You'll find the root on holes 1,4,7,10. It will be on those same holes no matter what key music you play provided you're in 2nd position.
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harpdude61
1716 posts
Jun 18, 2013
8:17 AM
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A lot of people emphasize learning the letter name for each note. I'm with Greg. Learn the number of the scale for each position you learn based off the root.
This way you only have to learn it once per position instead of 12 times per postion.
You will learn very quickly where they are if you put the tuner away.
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rpavich
16 posts
Jun 18, 2013
9:44 AM
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Very good points greg and harpdude...I've been wondering how valuable that would be to keep in that mindset....
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garry
415 posts
Jun 19, 2013
5:19 PM
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i agree about learning the scale degrees, vs, names. but you also need letter names, since that's what your guitarists will be talking about.
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