Playing harp in a non blues band
Hi Winslow,
I have been integrated in a band (singer, bass, guitar) that plays pop songs.
I ask for the chords before the song and I try to find out the best harp to play. That is not easy.
For example if the chords are : Cm-Fm-G, I translate that into i, iv, V and I try to find the best position to play these chord progression (let say that I will try to play the pentatonic scales of these chords).
After much research on an spreadsheet, I found out that the third position seems best to play this set of 3 pentatonic scales. So to play Cm-Fm-G I'll need a Bb harmonica.
The second best choice would be to play in seventh positions. This could be played with a Eb harmonica which I don't own.
I made my calculations for the following chord progressions
- i, iv, I, IV (I find 3rd pos)
- I, III, IV, iv (I find 3rd pos)
- i, iv, V, IV (I find 3rd pos)
- I, II, V, vi (I find 11th pos, better than 1st pos, theoretical value)
- i, iv, V, IV (I find 3rd pos)
but I can't do this live during rehearsal.
Are there any methods/tools to approach this problem better than try a third pos if the first chord is i and do my best at skipping missing tones ?
I don't have much trust in my spreadsheet, but that is the best tool I have so far.
Thanks a lot.
Thank you Winslow,
Although I read your answer soon after you posted it, I wanted to process/understand it first. That took several days.
I see that you are focusing on the chord notes when I was focusing on the pentatonic scale notes. Focusing on the chord notes simplifies the choice of harmonica as it results in a smaller set of notes. It is also sufficient for accompanying.
Thanks for sharing your insight.
Bod
Spreadsheets are great but you can't be whipping them out on the fly, as you note.
I happen to have a good memory for this stuff, and that's what I tend to rely on, using a process similar to what you describe.
For each position, I know:
Yeah, that's a lot of memorization, but it really helps you figure out quickly what harp to use.
In this case, I'd look at the chords and realize that they form a C harmonic minor scale, which is almost the same as the natural minor scale, the only difference being the raised 7th degree.
OK, which position gives me a natural minor scale by default? Fourth position. OK, now I ask myself:
Note that I did all this in my head, and without thinking about specific keys once I determined the nature of the scale. But the prognosis looks good, so then I ask myself, which harp will let me play the key of C in fourth position? Wel, I know the key, so to find the key of harp in the desired position I count backwards around the circle of fifths from C (1st) to F (2nd) to Bb (3rd) to Eb (4th).
But why are you calling C on an Eb harp seventh position? that's incorrect. I'm wondering whether it might help you to correctly memorize the position relationships.