For those of you who missed it, the main thrust of the webinar was using the major and minor pentatonics to improvise. A C harmonica was used. Mooncat did most of the minor portion. It's worth noting that you can (and should) combine these scales, including the flat five or "devil note", you have G, A, Bb, B, C C#, D, E, and F available. On a C, that's 3 blow (or 2 draw), 3 double bent draw, 3 draw bent a half step, 3 draw, 4 blow, 4 draw bend, 4 draw, 5 blow, 5 draw and back to the G on 6 blow. Brendan talks about it here.
This is the dumb question somebody has to ask it so it might as well be me.
Are scales dependent on hole positions or actual notes? In the video by Brendan and the lesson by Jason two different harps are used. Brendan uses a C Harp to play the minor pentatonic Jason is using an A Harp. From this I can safely assume it's not the notes it's the holes that are important correct me if I'm wrong.
My knowledge of music can be written on the back of postage stamp with plenty of white space so bare with me.
Scales, licks, melodies, chords - any musical pattern can be viewed as a set of *relationships* between the notes. When you look at them that way, the actual note names are just details that will vary from key to key, while the relationships stay the same.
This translates directly to action patterns on the harmonica.
Try this:
Pick up a harmonica in any key and play Mary Had a Little Lamb (or any other famililar, simple tune) in first postiion.
Now pick up a harp in a different key, and use the exact same actions (hole number, breath, etc.) to play the same melody.
Even though all the note names are different, you still have the same actions, same recognizable melody, same pattern of relationship among the notes.
