From: Nick Day Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 20:18:36 +0100 Subject: Breakthroughs
Hi.
I'm new to the list, but have been lurking for a while on the web archives. In case it helps anyone, here is my list of 'breakthroughs' when learning to play the chromatic. Several of these may seem stupidly easy but each was a breakthrough to me at the time. Let me know if any of this is too cryptic or confusing and I'll try and explain. When I mention keys below, I mean major keys.
1. Finding out that E# is F, and B# is C (give or take). This was not obvious when I started reading music, it doesn't 'appear' on the stave.
2. Realising that you can play Db with the slide held in all the time.
3. Memorising the circle of fifths (a very long-drawn-out process!). Think of it as a clock face, eg 5 o'clock has five sharps.
4. Realising that the circle of fifths can be used to judge intervals -- perfect fifths clockwise, perfect fourths anticlockwise; major sixths are 15 minutes round clockwise (this also gets you to the relative minor of a major key); major thirds, you divide the circle into three '20-minute' 'thirds' clockwise and so on. work it out for yourself. Learn interval complements too (eg a perfect fifth complements a perfect fourth; they add up to an octave).
5. Using this to transpose notes mentally when I can't find the right note by ear, eg which note to start a tune on in a particular key.
6. Realising that learning the major keys is easier than I thought. C's easy, no slide necessary. G easy; sharpen the F. F's easy, flatten the B. Db's easy, just hold the slide in. Gb's easy, it's like F; again B is the 'funny' note; hold the slide in all the time and release it for B only. Ab's easy, hold the slide in for all notes except G. It's like the key of G, you 'operate' the slide only on the penultimate note (the seventh). So that's two keys you can play without worrying about using the slide, and another four keys where you only use the slide for one note, so we've covered half the keys already. I don't know of another instrument where this trick works.
That only leaves six more major keys; four of these (B, Eb, Bb and D) only need the slide moved for two notes. That leaves A and E. E is nice and symmetrical -- sharpen the second, third, sixth and seventh notes (F,G, C,D). A is not hard, just sharpen F, C, G. While you are learning the 'flat' scales, look for easier ways to play them, using the enharmonic notes; the rules above are just to get you started.
Of course a similar principle applies to the minor keys.
7. Realising that in Gb, the B is a Cb really.
8. Noticing that the notes you sharpen are in the same order as in the circle of fifths (F,C,G,D etc).
9. Noticing that the last four notes of any scale are the first four of the next one clockwise round the circle of fifths.
10. Going from exclusively tongue blocking to pucker, allowing notes to be tongued, and tongue trills, and for me, a better tone.
11. Using the slide for some grace notes and ornamentation.
12. Hearing Larry Adler playing his own piano accompaniment. A revelation.
13. Discovering that you can get a very 'phasey' hand vibrato by holding the harmonica in the right hand and using the left completeley detached, not touching the harmonica, just waving it around to get the vibrato.
14. Now I'm learning to visualise another circle of keys around the circle of fifths, shifted clockwise '20 minutes' so you get
E B Gb ... outer ring C G D A ... inner ring
This lets you visualise major and minor keys; major as a triangle with the point away from the centre of the circle, eg: E C G
minor keys with a triangle pointing into the circle, eg: E B G
See Douglas Tate's notes in Harp-L on the Harmonetta and http://www.c-thru-music.co.uk/index.html#topics for more information on this sort of thing, but with the circle straightened out. I prefer to visualise a circle as I find it much easier to judge angles than visualise distances.
15. Recently received Douglas Tate's excellent books. Several breakthroughs in one!
(I still can't play very well, BTW)
Nick.
BTW I've subscribed as a 'friend' as I like reading the digest on the Web.
