From: John Thaden Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 11:33:33 -0500 Subject: (was: just intonation and equal temperament)
>I have learned the notes to use for the modes of the first 4 positions >(with a little flirting with 5th and 12th). So I guess that means I >know the Ionian, Mixolodian, Dorian and Aeolian scales.
Usually called modes, but there's nothing preventing you from playing other modes and scales in positions 1-4, for instance, various minor scales rather than Mixolydian in 2nd position by consistently flatting the 3rd scale tone; or a major scale in 3rd position. Yes, some places will need overblows and overdraws, but not everywhere. To just practice the easiest mode for each harp position doesn't buy you much, in my opinion, since you're practicing what you already know.
>I can usually tell is a song has minor characteristics, which >determines harp selection. I have learned the blues scale in second position. > >Besides the Blues >Scale and Pentatonic Scale are there others I should know in order to play >blues and rock? Something different for country or just play a harp >without the flatted 7th? OK, two questions. Exercises I should do? Maybe >its time for a scale, triad, arpeggio training book with appropriate >exercises.
I often use 2nd position for playing country and non-blues-based rock, too. OK, I overblow to get the major (unflatted) 7th, but even before I could overblow I often used 2nd position and then I just avoided the 7th. As for scale/arpeggio-based exercises, sure I do this, but in my opinion, extensive practice of scales is sort of a waste of time, because it's the harmonic structure (chord pattern) of a tune, plus the style it is in, that determine the 'right' notes to play and when to play them, not a scale (though of course you should be able to name the scale for any tune's melody!). Scale-based practice too often leads to mindless scalerunning and noodling that does little to highlight the power and beauty of a song--the way the chords shift and change, and its rhythms. Questions about a tune? Sit at a piano and pick out the sequence of triads (three note chords) that it runs through, or look at the guitar chords from a fake book (I prefer the ear method, because it's really all about ear training). The more you transcribe tune structures this way (not so much melodies as chord structures/harmony), the better your ear gets and the better your playing gets. For some styles, your solo can outline the chord changes by accentuating the note(s) that changes from one chord to the next. This displays a musical intelligence that can be appreciated even by the rowdiest crowds and happens to be one basis for jazz improvisation. Other times, you want to drive home a note that is unchanged through a series of chords--this happens naturally in the vocal lines of lots of blues and rock tunes. Another thing totally missing in scales is info about the unique place and function for the various scale notes while the song is on a particular chord. What notes create resolution? What notes fight the chord with some dissonance? How to use both? The answers to these questions are very style-dependent, and that's where playing music rather than scales comes in--you learn the styles while you learn to play harp.
