> > BTW, I never have to dig through a box to find the harp key I want. I > keep mine organized in cases, according to the circle of 5ths. This is > a really good idea, extremely useful when jamming to music and trying to > find the right key and position. Changing position is just a matter of > picking the harp to the right or left.. you don't have to think about > it. If the harp you try isn't right in any position you're comfortable > with, it's easy to skip 2 or 3 to the right or left and get a harp where > none of the keys in your comfortable positions overlap. This way, I > usually find the right key within 3 or 4 trys. > > And, with your harps arranged this way the circle of 5ths becomes well > ingrained, second nature, and it's easier to pick a particular key harp > than when I had them arranged in "sequential" order (C, D, E..). > > This is one of my favorite not-well-known tips. Seems like a good > thread could be the sharing of favorite tips. > > I just started... > > Mic'l
Cool idea. I'll throw two of them out (one I mentioned earlier.) For those of you that have the Lee Oskar tool kit, the instructions show using the sharp end of the "pick" to adjust the offset. I like to flip the pick over and use the "elbow". This makes it next to impossible for the pick to slip off the end of the reed. On most harps you can even do this from the inside of the chamber.
Another suggestion I have for blues players just learning to play different positions is to buy the recording "The Blues Never Die" by Otis Spann. It has some decent playing by James Cotton but the reason I like it is that the first four songs are in G, C, D, and A respectively. This means that with a C harp you can quickly run through 2nd position, 1st position, 3rd position, and 4th position in that order. In my twenty minute commute to work I can run through all 4 songs. I know you can make a tape like this yourself but this is a cool recording anyway. Also, near the end there is a song with the most horribly out of tune chromatic that you will ever hear. You have to hear it to believe it.
There have been some great tips in the past couple of days. I broke out of my normal routine on my commute today to play some "Here Comes The Bride." In a few minutes I'm going to bust out the Chro and try the exercise Douglas Tate suggested today. I love this list!
