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Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2003 09:39:34 -0500
From: John Thaden
Subject: Re: 12th position = 1st Flat Position

On Thu, 12 Jun 2003 16:02:13 -0000, Winslow Yerxa wrote:
>> this very topic and decided that 12th Position should also be
>> called "1st Flat Position", as there is a cycle of fourths that
>> goes in the opposite direction as the cycle of fifths, and it is
>> much easier to think of going down one fourth as opposed to
>> counting up 12 fifths.
>
> This works fine if you are playing a C-harp (no flats in C major)
> and want to play in F Major (one flat in the scale).
>
> But what if you are playing F minor on a C-harp? F minor has 4
> flats, so "first flat" is not an accurate description.

When I'm playing F minor on a C harp, I'm usually not thinking 12th position, but rather, 4th, since F minor is the relative minor of A major and A major is 4th position on a C harp. For me, "first flat", or "one flat" is a pretty good synonym of 12 position.

- --
John Thaden
jjthad~lash.net
Little Rock, Arkansas