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This session we will break out of the regular 12 bar blues! Less theory and more playing this session. We will be using the harp players greatest tool -The CIRCLE Of FIFTHS. a theory shorcut that will expand your playing and will help you play the right feel in the right key!
We will be working with the C harmonica and will use the magic circle to play along with music in 6 different keys!
First Position - Key of C on C Harmonica
First Position - Key of C on C Harmonica
Used for folk music but can work on other upbeat tunes.
Feature the C chord and the G chords ( I and V)
Root Note - 1, 4, 7, 10 blow
Popular Songs: Let it be , Simple Man , Imagine, No Woman No Cry, Piano Man
Here is a backing track
Second Position - Key of G on C harmonica
Second Position - Key of G on C harmonica
Moving clockwise on the circle of fifths to G . This is the easiest postion to play along with most blues, rock and country.
You get the G chord and the C chord (I and IV) and easy to reach blues scales with lots of expression in the lower notes. Pick any. You should be able to play along with any song in G and make it sound a bit bluesy and funky.
You can also play over Gminor songs , but you cant play the full chords and you have to stay away from the 3 and 7 draw.
Root note - 2 draw , 3 6 and 9 blow
Popular songs : Lyin Eyes, Brown Eyed Girl, Love me do, about a billion blues based songs!
Heres a backing track - Blues in G
Third Position - D and D Minor on the C harmonica
Third Position - D and D Minor on the C harmonica
Moving one more position around the circle of fifths we come to D , which is 3rd position on the harmonica. You wont get much chord action in this position but you can work on octave splits. Third position is excellent for play D minor , or playing over D songs that have a bit of a jazzy feel. Very versitile!
Root note : D is at 1, 4 and 8 draw.
Popular Songs in D: Hotel California, Twist and Shout, fields of gold, 8 days a week
Popular Songs in Dm: The thrill is gone, Come together , Smooth Operator
Fourth Position - A Minor on C harmonica (Relative Minor)
Fourth Position - A Minor on C harmonica (Relative Minor)
Now we get a bit fancier! Fourth position is also the relative minor of the 1st position! So this means we should be able to play over Am based songs, and indeed we can. The extra notes we get also put us in a very bluesy and jazzy mode. Start on the 6 draw and work to the 10 draw. You too can play jazz!
Root Note: 3'' , 6 and 10 draw,
Twelfth Position - F on C Harmonica
Twelfth Position - F on C Harmonica
This gets a bit complicated , see if you can follow here. Dm is available in 3rd position , but if it is a minor scale that means there is also a relative major scale that is the same, right? So looking on the magic wheel we see that F is the relative major of Dm. So , can we play all F tunes? Not all of them will sound right - the scale we get is a Major 7 . This is different from the Dominant 7 we hear in most blues songs. It has a mellower, dreamy feel to it .
Root notes are 2'', 5 and 9 draw
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