positions

Over the holidays I listened to Jimi Lee's new CD compiled of live performances of jazz standards. On this CD he sings, plays guitar and on every tune plays tasty harmonica. If you like jazz standards (Fly Me To The Moon, Bye Bye Blackbird, etc.) then I think you'll love this CD http://www.jimileeband.com/shop/

Jimi plays altered-tuned harps on this CD as well, so one of my students asked him to put a list together with the keys and turnings he used (thanks Dave) and Jimi posted this on his website (thanks Jimi) http://www.jimileeband.com/shop/jimi_lee_jazz_standards_cd_harp_key_list/

Take a look at the 2nd Position (F harp) and 3rd Position (Bb harp) versions of the hook example and reference them to the note chart below. Figure out which notes are being played for each chord and write them down.

http://www.bluesharmonica.com/sites/bluesharmonica.com/files/private/Har...

I7 = 2 2" 2

IV7 = 4+ 3' 4+

V7 = 4 4+ 4

Or on your Bb Harmonica in 3rd Position...

I7 = 4 4+ 4

IV7 = 6+ 5 6+

V7 = 6 6+ 6

Harmonicas come in all twelve keys. To play in a given key you simply grab the appropriate harmonica and away you go. Each harmonica is approached the same—same blows, draws, bends and techniques—the harmonica does the key change for you. We start with the A Harmonica because it’s the most common harmonica used in blues. The common keys of harmonica are G, A, Bb, C, D and F. To learn this instrument and play along with the majority of your blues music selections, you’ll need these keys. continue reading...

New videos have been added to the popular Minor Playing lesson. In Sections 2 and 3 of the lesson I've teamed up with Richard Sleigh and asked him to write a study song using the Minor Pentatonic Scale (same as the Blues Scale, minus the flat-5) to write a head that uses the same notes in four positions... 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th so that you can see how a melody can be directly transposed to one of these minor-friendly positions. I also requested that he solo two choruses in each of these examples so that you can hear the cool things that are unique to each of these positions. continue reading...

Now that you've figured out the key of the song, the next step is to dig in and work out what the harmonica player is doing. BUT, even though you may have figured out the correct key, you might be in the wrong position. As a young harmonica player I would often try to learn a new song and I would figure out two-thirds of it, with the rest being a mystery... continue reading...

No matter which technique you use from the list of three I presented on 1/6/2015, if you make an error in your key selection, it's usually because you heard that the 5th of the key sounded good and took it as the root note.

Let me help you to understand this a bit... continue reading...

And now for 3rd Position. Play the Rhumba rhythm again over the 12 Bar Blues Progression in 2nd Position.

C Harmonica in 2nd Position (Key of G)
I = G B D = 2 3 4
IV = C E G = 1+ 2+ 3+
V = D F# A = 1 2' 3"

Now grab your Low-F Harmonica and play the same notes in 3rd Position:
I = G Bb D = 4 5 6
IV = C E G = 6+ 7 8
V = D F A = 6 7+ 8 continue reading...

Here's a great way to hear that the notes are the same from position to position (and to check if you're doing it correctly). Play the following Rhumba rhythm over the 12 Bar Blues Progression:

C Harmonica in 2nd Position (Key of G)
I = G B D = 2 3 4
IV = C E G = 1+ 2+ 3+
V = D F# A = 1 2' 3"

Now grab your G Harmonica and play the same notes in 1st Position:
I = G B D = 4+ 5+ 6+
IV = C E G = 2" 3" 4+ (5 6 7+ an octave above is easier to play)
V = D F# A = 2 3 4 (or 6+ 7 8 if you want to stay in the upper octave) continue reading...