10th position?
Mon, 12/12/2011 - 20:13
Winslow,you wrote about playing a C chromatic with the slide in - Eb which would give you 10th position to a song played in D. I would assume you could also go right to a song in F and do third position, is that correct? This makes spending the money for chromatics a lot easier to accept.
Tue, 12/13/2011 - 09:28
#2
!
Winslow, it might take me longer than the
years I have left at my age to absorb what you just told me. At least my life will always have a purpose - gotta love this site
On a C chromatic, F would be 12th position, not third, .
F plays nothing like third, but Dennis Gruenling uses it occasionally. Jazz guys use it a lot - it's actually a pretty flexible position, just as it is on diatonic. It just sin't very traditional from a dedicated blues harmonica perspective.
Third position would be D, and is the most familiar blues position on chromatic. You can play it without ever using the slide. If you hold the slide in, you get all the same moves but in Eb, which is 10th position. If you put the slide into play, however, 3rd and 10th play very differently.
First position has a lot to offer. You can play Stevie Wonder-style blues scales as outlined in my latest tip but also play boogie-woogie type riffs working off the notes of the blow chord.
8th Position plays like first with the slide held in - Db on a C chromatic. The Stevie blues scales disappear (or at least change radically in how you play them) but instead you get main chord notes that you can approach from below by starting with the slide out, then jabbing it in to arrive at your note.
I think I just gave about five tips' worth of advice here :)