Header Graphic
Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > blus in Aminor
blus in Aminor
Login  |  Register
Page: 1

groyster1
3526 posts
Feb 20, 2020
4:44 AM
last night at blues jam we played song in minor.....I played a Gharp in 3rd position.....how many out there would have used natural minor tuned harp in Dminor…..I have that harp but not confident about the sound playing it in second position....possibly because of the dorian sound
dougharps
2073 posts
Feb 20, 2020
7:01 AM
I seldom use my minor tuned Lee Oskars as usually they are not in my gig case, but sitting at home. I have a bag with an assortment of minor, country tuned, and Paddy Richter tuned harps that I seldom bring out.

If I know in advance that I have a specific minor key song that I will play for which a minor harp would be the best option, I might bring that one minor harp. Otherwise I choose not to add my minor, country, and Paddy Richter harps to the weight of my gig case. I only have 4 or 5 keys of each, and the varying group of musicians I play with will often call unusual keys for which I do not have a minor tuned harp.

I would usually choose to play an Am song on a G in 3rd.

Sometimes I might play a minor song in 2nd position... very carefully bending and skipping notes outside the scale.

On some occasions I may choose 4th or 5th, 5th less frequently. I would use 5th more often if I had my country tuned harps with me, but they are usually home with my minor tuned and Paddy Richter harps.

Depending on the song I may choose 3rd or 4th on a keyed chromatic harmonica, switching between single notes and octaves. Am on a C chromatic works great, though a G chromatic in 3rd offers those fat chords when you do octaves, slaps, and chordal playing.

Sometimes I switch among positions and harps in one song, sometimes I choose specific harps and positions for different minor songs.
----------

Doug S.
Gnarly
2746 posts
Feb 20, 2020
7:47 AM
I modified a Session Steel in C that works great for A minor.
The bottom is Major Cross, holes 1-6. The top is Power Chromatic, holes 3-10. Plus it has the TurboSlide.
It’s a G now, so I guess that’s still 3rd Position LOL
The Iceman
4025 posts
Feb 20, 2020
8:19 AM
Personally, not practicing much on special tuned harmonicas (although they are hilarious fun at home to mess with), I'd have 2 harmonicas at the ready - one to play in 3rd and the other to play in 2nd (with appropriate bends) - and then wait to hear how the song's progression unfolds before deciding which one to use - have also used both in situations like this, switching up during the song, as well as considering other positions, but those are usually my first two choices.
----------
The Iceman
jbone
3131 posts
Feb 20, 2020
11:11 AM
I just keep it simple, the way I learned. 3rd position is not hard. And to me it sounds very good.
----------
Music and travel destroy prejudice.

Reverbnation

Facebook

John M G
342 posts
Feb 20, 2020
6:26 PM
I'd always go for a standard tuned harp in 3rd position, or one of my CX-12's in 3rd position.
I have Lee Oskar natural minor harps but they rarely if ever get any play time. They're not in my harp case or gig bag.
snowman
536 posts
Feb 20, 2020
8:42 PM
I usually ask if the IV chord is minor.
using a rack a lot, I want the notes there, in cross harp "minor tuned, all the thirds and sixth's are flatted. so I dont have to think about bending 3 draw perfect.
I tune most of my 6 draws down a half step anyway.
this makes the chords sweeter as well..

songs I use minor tuned with rack} most of these have a minor 4 chord.
Thrill is gone
I shot the sheriff
please don't let me be misunderstood
summertime
Unchain my heart
Aint no sunshine when she gone
cowgirl in the sand
Mr magic
hotel cal
Nothin to nobody [robben ford]

work song [I go back n forth,lately prefer normal tuned ]
[by the way check out the ford brothers,
version--mark rips on it--some great use of 3 draw bends--and a cool ascending to the 4 chord , using all blows notes]

Thrill is gone
Im going back to the blues [haden sayer]



song i use maj 7 tuned [melody maker] on

whats goin on [marvin gaye]
Georgia
stand by me

If only the I chord is minor I may use reg tuned or minor--
Jonny b good peter tosh
Back to the city Mark almond

I f I don't have to use a rack I'll use either 3rd pos---minor or regular----chromatic for key D ,especially when minor----off the rack its MUCH EASIER---too control bends

Nothing irritates a band more than a harp player who doesn't care if its major or minor, because they don't know the difference--
if Im sitting in---I always ask; what key ---minor or major----145------what chords--- i play different when there is IIm or 6251 change

Im super respectful when sitting in--I like to play with the band---not versus the band.

I think its up to u what works.

I do however feel u have to play a 'Nat mino'r tuned,--LONG ENOUGH TO LET YOUR EARS ADJUST--I now exactly what the minor tuned sounds like ---it doesn't sound weird any more---I can switch back n forth between reg tuned-nat minor tuned---melody maker maj7---and chromatic---without a mental adjustment---they sound normal to me now
but thats just me

I don't think one is right or wrong--its all good
-BUT AGAIN IF YOUR HITTING 3 DRAW WITH NO BEND IN A MINOR SONG AND ESPECIALLY SUSTAINED---WELL ITS JUST BAD
Im so full of myself--my apologies
BronzeWailer
2123 posts
Feb 21, 2020
1:50 AM
Sat in with a guy who does a lot of Southern Rock and Grateful Dead. He had a guitar riff in Whipping Post in Am and asked if I could do it. Lard out better in 2nd on the D harp IIRC.
BronzeWailer's YouTube
barbequebob
3639 posts
Feb 21, 2020
8:51 AM
Even more important than asking if the IV chord is a minor is to ask if the V chord is a minor or a major and when the progression uses a V chord in a minor key blues is a major chord, that's using the harmonic or melodic minor scale rather than the more common nautral minor scale and the clearest example of a blues tune done in a minor key which has the V chord is a minor is the Albert King arrangement of the Fenton Robinson tune As The Years Go Passing By. You HAVE to remember that there is MORE than just one minor scale and if you play 3rd position, your bends will need to be a helluva a lot more accurate when this happens regardless if it's a blues tune or not. If a tune uses a harmonic or melodic minor scale, I would NOT use 2nd position on a major tuned harp at all.
----------
Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
sonvolt13
202 posts
Feb 21, 2020
1:32 PM
2nd position works well for minor key blues as long as you stick to the blues scale. Notes outside of the blues scale will sound bad. Paul Butterfield’s version of the thrill is gone is a great example of minor blues in second.
Spderyak
323 posts
Feb 21, 2020
7:27 PM
I am increasingly using the specialty tuned harps when I play. Then again I am not playing only blues with them.

So yes, if I had a Dm with me I'd give it a go, but chances are I wouldn't have that particular one so would reach for the G harp

I chart all my harps so what ever matches with the vocals best is what I'll use.

I do have an L.O. harp in Em which is actually his Am(d) in 1st position. I find I use that a fair amount and usually have it with me.
So I would have ventured for Am in 1st somewhere along the line I suppose.

You can get pretty tongue tied trying to keep track of which harps gives you what keys and what range or octave are they covering..stuff like that.

Last Edited by Spderyak on Feb 21, 2020 7:42 PM
Gnarly
2747 posts
Feb 22, 2020
9:29 AM
I bring altered tuned harps to a gig, but haven’t been using nat minor. Guess I will drag one to the gig—the guy I am playing with does Stray Cat Strut in Am, so I will find a D minor. And maybe also a harmonic minor in A.
I'm Henry
2 posts
Feb 23, 2020
2:58 PM
Couldn't you just play in 5th position?
Gnarly
2749 posts
Feb 23, 2020
9:04 PM
@i’m henry So that’s an F harp, pretty easy to bend, I will try that too.
SuperBee
6509 posts
Feb 24, 2020
12:49 AM
Not a heap of bending for 5th, ok, 3draw you want whole and semi Tone bend, avoid the 2” and may not want the 1’ or 4’ unless you want a major 6, so the Low F is probably squarely in the picture. Not sure how the octaves sit, my 5th playing is underdeveloped but I don’t play much major 2nd either
groyster1
3529 posts
Feb 25, 2020
10:25 AM
as it stands now Im concerned about how my Dminor natural tuned harp would have blended in....so I guess playing G in 3rd position is safe......I actually like 3rd position except that I cant seem to work in chords
jbone
3138 posts
Feb 25, 2020
9:10 PM
Chords or octaves do take some breath. TB the middle 2 of 4 holes and find your way around. I use that on some stuff.
----------
Music and travel destroy prejudice.

Reverbnation

Facebook

SuperBee
6513 posts
Feb 26, 2020
12:51 AM
I guess that’s where the minor tuned harp is advantageous. There’s a lot of good octave opportunity in 3rd but if you’re using it for minor the big chords are really off the menu.
jbone
3139 posts
Feb 26, 2020
12:30 PM
@Bee, especially when using a chromatic!
----------
Music and travel destroy prejudice.

Reverbnation

Facebook

Harpaholic
956 posts
Feb 28, 2020
11:59 AM
Why is everyone using the term blues when it's clearly blus in A minor?


Post a Message



(8192 Characters Left)


Modern Blues Harmonica supports

§The Jazz Foundation of America

and

§The Innocence Project

 

 

 

ADAM GUSSOW is an official endorser for HOHNER HARMONICAS