David's Tip of the Day: Flat 7th - 3 Levels of Matching, Part 2 (Definition)

Referencing the C Harmonica played in 2nd Position (Key of G), the flat-7th of the G Major Scale (G A B C D E F# G) is F. This makes the common G7 blues chord of G B D F. Here are the three levels of how well that F (the 5 draw we spoke of yesterday… or 2” and 9 octave equivalents) match…

Sounds Real Good
Someone else in the band is also playing the flat-7th (F).

Sounds Okay, But Aggressive
No one else is playing the flat-7th (just you) AND no one else is playing a note that will clash with it.

Sounds Real Bad
No one else is playing the flat-7th AND someone is playing a note a half step away from you… either the 6th (E), which is a very common note in lighter blues (try the common bass line 2 2 3 3 4 4 5+ 5+ on your harp… the 5+ is the 6th)… or the major-7th (F#), which is not as common.

More discussion tomorrow…