Blues Chromatic

Hi, Winslow.

What is happening (and where, and when) at SPAH this year on Tuesday night? I didn't see anything about it on the website.

Thanks.

Mark H.

Hello, Winslow thank you so much in advance.

I have found a way to do the Octave while using the Diatonic by putting just the tip of my tongue pointing down slightly into the the adjacent hole to the right of the left most note in the octave.

e.g.

for the 1 4 octave, I use the 2nd hole to place my tongue. It is the left center tip of the tongue going slightly down.

My tongue has a definite U block shape or a channel and I am constantly working on a basic flat tongue, Tongue block technique, blocking the holes to the left and sounding the note to the right. continue reading...

I have some basic guidelines about what not to do when cleaning a Harmonica that has wood parts.

I use a jewelry Ultrasonic machine for my Diatonic harmonicas, but do not do so with my Super Chromatic 270 Deluxe.

I wipe it off and use Mi T Mist to sanitize it.

What should I do after playing to give it a little cleaning and then having it set up to dry.

I am unclear how to use water and toweling.

Thank you so much in advance

Will

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

So far, we've connected C# with E and D to the right, and to B on the left.

This time I'm going even farther to the left.

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).

You may remember that the standard chromatic tuning has two C's - and, with the slide in, two C#s, side by side, in Holes 4 and 5, and again in Holes 8 and 9. continue reading...

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. continue reading...

Sweetening the scale with C# - first of three installments

In keys like E that use sharps to create a major scale, those sharps are like sugar. And the blues needs a little sugar - a little sweet to go along with the sour and the bitter, and a little sunshine to contrast with the seductive darkness.

So far in the previous installments we've:

-- played a five-note minor pentatonic scale

--then added the flat five to make it a blues scale.

--Then we used the slide to sweeten up the sourest note- the flat 2, or F natural, turning it into F-sharp. continue reading...

I'm not a chromatic player, and I'm just learning music theory on this website. I just watched the Mark Hummel interview, and he and Dave talk about 1st, 2nd, and 3rd position on a chromatic. I'm confused. I think of a chromatic as a piano: it has all the sharps and flats on it without a need to bend. Are 2nd and 3rd position on a chromatic just playing in G and D? Or can you play a song in a different key and a different position? IE, can you play a song in E in first position or second position on a chromatic?

Part 7 – Sweetening Avoid Note #1 – third of three parts

Over the last two installments I’ve been showing you how to avoid the sour note F (Draw 2) by raising it to F# with the slide, and moving to and from this note.

In this installment I’ll walk you through connecting F# to notes located one hole to the right: A (slide-out draw note) and G (slide-out blow note).

Tab review: Hole number, breath, slide

4B = Hole 4 Blow (no slide) 3D< = Hole 3, Draw, Slide pressed in

So far you’ve connected F#, or 2D< with: continue reading...

Part 6 – Sweetening Avoid Note #1, second third

Last installment you started using the slide to get the note F#, sweetening up the sour note F. You approached and left the F# (a slide-in draw note) via E (slide-out blow note in the same hole.)

In this installment you’ll start connecting F# with D, the slide-out draw note to the left. (in the next installment, you’ll connect F# to A and G, the notes one hole to the right.

To get started, move between the notes D and F in Holes 1 and 2:

1D – 2D – 1D – 2D (etc.) continue reading...

Part 5 – Sweetening Avoid Note #1, first third

If you’ve been following the previous installments, you’ve learned to play the E minor blues scale on chromatic, including one slide-in blue note (B-flat, the flat 5).

The slide can help you sweeten up a couple of sour-sounding notes that will expand your palette of sounds when you play in E. Both these notes sound very sour in a blue context. continue reading...