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From: Pete Brunelli
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 1996 15:01:23 -0500 (EST)
Subject: harp positions revisited

Well, here goes.

When I play cross harp I play a Major Fourth higher than the tonic of the
progression in question. Last I checked, this means C harp in G, D harp in
A, F harp in C...

quoth thine semi-outdated FAQ:
"Funny thing is, diatonic players are more likely to play a C harp in G and
a D harp in A - five notes up the scale. This makes the instrument bluesier
and more expressive. On a C harmonica, the blow notes form a C chord when
played together, and the draw notes form a G7th chord."

and:

"Q: What does second position (cross harp) mean?

A: When you are playing second position (or cross harp), the key of the
harmonica you are using is a fifth above (or a quart below) the key of the
band. If the band is playing in E, for example, your harmonica will be in A.
This situation allows you to play along very well with blues chord
progressions using the lower draw notes of your harmonica. Actually this is
only a useful notion on a diatonic harmonica. In that case the 2 draw will
be the tonic of the song -- BB."

the use of fifth and fourth and above and below confuses the issue here, as
well. I always figure above to be higher in pitch.

However, Michael Polesky writes:

"Thus, if your first position is C (on a C harp) then your 2nd position is
five steps above at G, 3rd is 5 more at D, 4th at A and 5th at E. For the
first 3 positions generally all of the notes in the diatonic scale are used.
For 4th position it is based on the notes A, C, D, E, & G (C harp); and 5th
position E, G, A, B, & D (C Harp). You may wish to translate this into note
positions (i.e. 1 draw 2 blow etc.) so it is easy to transpose to a
different harp."

And goes on to spell out the use of ascending fifths as position markers in
an ASCII chart. The above rule holds throughout the chart.

This would have me playing harp in the major fifth of the tonic. i.e. D
harp in G and E harp in A. These notes are a fourth *lower* than the tonic,
not a fourth higher. I play guitar and honk harmonica in a rack. I suck at
it, but not so badly that i wouldn't notice being a step off.

Any takers on this oft-repeated boondoggle?

Pete "The Troublemaker" Brunelli
__,/"""""""""""""/`.__ ,~ ,'|
/_,'""""""""""""""`.__/ ,'| |, ,'~ Pete Brunelli
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