Blues in E on Chromatic - Part 9

Blues in E on chromatic - Part 9

Sweetening the scale with C# - second of three installments.

In the last installment, I walked your through adding C# to the E scale and moving between C# and E and then also between C# and F# (which, if you've been following the series, was also the last slide-in sweetener note I added).

Now it's time to connect C# to D, and connect C# to B, two other important notes in the scale.

(Theory talk: B is the fifth degree of the E scale and the most important note after E. D is the flat seventh degree of the scale. C# is the sixth degree, right between the fifth and seventh degrees (B and D respectively.)

Let's start with moving between C# and D.

D is a slide-out draw note.

C# is a slide-in draw note in the same hole as D.

So moving between D and C# requires both a slide change and a breath change.

Before we start, remember the tab I'm using:

Hole number, followed by B for blow or D for Draw. Slide-in notes have a <, as in 1B< (Hole one, blow with the slide held in).

Start by playing D, and then moving to C, and go back and forth a few times:

1D 1B 1D 1B, etc.

Now, try adding the slide-in blow note to the sequence:

1D 1B 1B< 1D 1B 1B< 1D 1B 1B< etc.

When you go from 1B< back to 1D, try to make it a clean move, without accidentally including 1B or 1D<.

Now I'm going to move the action up an octave so that we can include a note that would fall off the end of a 12-hole harp (though if you have a 14- or 16-holer, you can stay down low).

Try playing the following lick. Try putting 5D and 5B< on the beat, and 5B beats, and play a shuffle groove at a slow-ish tempo:

5D 5B 5B< 5D 5B 5B< 5D 4D

Now, try tightening up so that you can make a clean move directly between D (5D) and C# (5B<).

5D 5B< 5D 5B< etc., OR 1D 1B< 1D 1B<, etc.

Note what happens when you hit the slide a little too late and get a little sliver of 1B (or 5B) on your way to 1B< (or 5B<). It's a cool effect, but don't let that make you lazy - you still need to be able to execute the move cleanly.

Also, when you're coming back from C# to D (1B< to 1D, or 5B< to 5D), you might leave the slide in too long and get a little sliver of D# (1D< or 5D<). Again, note the effect but go for the clean move.

Here are some licks that add E and B to the mix. Play all notes on the beat and go for clean slide moves:

6B 5B< 5D 5B< 5D 6B

6B 5B< 5D 5B< 5D 4D

6B 5B< 5D 4D 3D 3B 2B

5D 5B< 5D 6B 5D 4D

Now it's time to start connecting C# to B.

This move is like moving between C# and D, but in addition to changing slide position and breath direction, you also change which hole you're playing.

"But hey, wait a minute," you might say. "I'm eyeing the note layout for a chromatic and you have two C notes side by side. The one on the right is in the same hole with D, and the one on the left shares a hole with B. So why not just stay in the same hole to play both B and C#?"

Good question. For sure, you will find times when that left-side C/C# is a more convenient choice. I'll cover those choices in the next installment. However, for now, I'm connecting B with E or D, which lie to the right of B, so the C# on the right makes for smoother connection with those notes, without having to leap over any holes.

So try this:

4D 5B 5B< 5B 4D (repeat several times)

Now tighten it up to eliminate the 5B:

4D 5B< 4D 5B< etc. (the notes are B and C#)

Any time you change slide from one note to another, you can move the slide too early or late and get a sliver of an additional note - 5B when you move too late, 4D< when you move too soon. Note the effects that these additional notes create, but strive for a clean transition.

Now try using C# as a stepping stone between B and E:

6B 5B< 4D 5B< 6B 5B< 4D 5B< etc.

and

4D 5B< 4D 5B< 6B 5B< 6B 5B< 4D 5B< 6B 5B< 4B

and

6B 5B< 4D 3D 3B 3D 4D 5B< (repeat)

(Note: if you tried this using the C# in the same hole as B, you'd have to jump over Hole 5 to get from the C# in Hole 4 to the E in Hole 6 - you see why I chose the C# on the right to smooth out this action.)

Now let's connect B and C# to D:

4D 5B< 5D 5B< (repeat several times)

and

5D 5B< 4D 5B< (repeat several times)

Both of these licks will be very familiar played against an E chord or a 12-bar blues in E.

Now try adding to the lick:

6B 5B< 5D 5B< 4D (2 beats) 5B< (2 beats)

6B 5B< 5D 5B< 4D (4 beats)

here's a longer riff:

6B 5B< 4D 5B< 5D 5B< 4D 3D 3B 2B 3D 3B 2B

In the next installment I'll start connecting to C# coming from the left side.