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From: flowe~sf.org (Ken Flowers)
Date: Wed, 17 Jan 1996 15:07:22 -0500
Subject: 2nd Pos, Scales and Cross Harp

Thanks to Mike C. for the helpful information about positions.

I consider myself an advanced beginner - I can guess out most
tunes in 1st positions, and feel comfortable jamming with the
radio in most keys (just that a different set of notes seem to
"fit" with different songs) on my C harp.

I've been struggling with the concept of positions for a while
now and have been looking for a good definition. I've even
resorted to getting a music theory book to help. Take the C
harp for instance:

1st Pos: Scale on a C harp = C D E F G A B C
3 octives available
1B 1D 2B 2Dbb 2D 3Dbbb/bb? 3D 4B
4B 4D 5B 5D 6B 6D 7D 7B
7B 8D 8B 9D 9B 10D 10Bb 10B

2nd Pos: The G Scale = G A B C D E F# G
So one would assume the second position notes to
be (both from the scale and from Mike C's mail):
2D 3Dbbb/bb? 3D 4B 4D 5B 5Db 6B

But this doesn't seem to jive with my notion of the notes
that "fit" with cross harp (and from what I can tell cross
harp = 2nd Position). The notes that seem to fit within that
same scale region are:
2D-2Dbb 3B 3D-3Dbbb (4B) 4Db 6B 6D 6Db

John Glindick mentions "notes of resolution", "transition notes"
and "wailing notes." Which all make musical sense to me.
But the G scale doesn't even begin to fit into my musical sense
of cross harp.

Any helpful thoughts on this?

Also, I would love to see a chart listing each position along with
its key (I know, circle of fifths), its notes that "fit", its general
style, its scales, and any special things about the positions, i.e.
"resolution", "transition", and "wailing".

Ken Flowers