I'd like to play a diatonic major harmonica in minor.
Hi Winslow,
I am not clear on playing in the Lee Oskar diatonic major scale in minor. Like, example, B.B. King's song The Thrill Is Gone in Bm key. I have a diatonic major scale in A. Positions 3rd Dorian is Bm. So I play in Bm? Stay away from blow 2 and blow 5 because these blow is only in the major scale? The minor scale in my major harmonica is the 4 hole normally start and end in draw 4? Not the 1 hole? (And the draw in 7 is major too and shy away from it.) Also, I would like to buy the Lee Oskar Harmonica, natural minor keys of B. and play around with this. Would you have a thought or two on the natural minor keys? I am eventually studying through David Barrett BluesHarmonica but in a week or two I will play songs in the open mic club and I like to know the lick for song The Thrill Is Gone in Bm. Thank you very much, Phil
3rd position in a nutshell
http://www.harpsurgery.com/3rd-position-blues-harp-an-introduction/
Minor vs. Major Harmonicas - Playing in Minor Keys - Todd Parrott
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzQa1PIblws
Christelle Berthon
Blues in B minor played on a Suzuki Fabulous in the key of C???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA37hfHuRTE
Thank you Winslow, thank you very much. Phil
Your easiest option is to get a Lee Oskar B natural minor and then play in second position - with Draw 2 as your home note. This will allow you to play familiar licks and have the notes of the scale adjust to the fact that it's a minor key song.
(By the way, Lee Oskar labels his natural minor harmonicas in second position, so buy a B natural minor harp to play B minor in second position. Don't buy an E or you'll get some rather weird results).
If you use an A harmonica, you can play in third position. Your home chord in Draw 4-5-6 is a B minor chord. However, two notes in the A major scale do not match the B minor scale used in The Thirll is Gone: Draw 3 and Draw 7. You can make them work during the I chord (B minor), but they will clash with the IV chord (E minor) and during the bVI chord (G7) that precedes the V chord (F#). These notes may also clash with the V chord, depending on how the guitar or keyboard "flavor" the chord with added notes.
Blow 2 and Blow 5 are perfectly fine for third position minor. If you were trying to play a minor song in *first * position - such as playing in A minor on a regular A harp, those notes would clash with the A minor scale. But they are actually a part of the normal third position scale, so don't hesitate to use them.
Minor keys can be confusing because there are several flavors of minor and the notes of the scale can change during the tune according to circumstances.
Let's look at the most basic form of the minor scale: the natural minor. This is a scale that will work quite nicely for a minor blues such as The Thrill is Gone. The B natural minor scale has these notes:
B C# D E F# G A
These are the same notes as the D major scale, just starting on a different note: D E F# G A B C#
So should you use a D harmonica to play B minor blues?
Actually it can be a great fit (it's 4th position, by the way). However, you have to deal with two things that require extra skill:
1. The home note - B - is a Draw 3 bent down 2 semitones, so you need good control of your Draw 3 bends.
2. The note B in Draw 6 is right next to Draw C# in Draw 7. Both are scale notes, but if you play them at the same time, you'll get a very discordant combination, so you need good control over selecting single notes in that area of the harp.
3. You have no B minor chord, although the notes of blow chord (D F# A) form a partial B minor 7 chord, but with the B missing. But try riffling through the blow notes over a I chord in B minor and you'll hear that it fits pretty nicely.
There's plenty more to day about minor scales, but this is a lot already. Hope it helps.