Question on Positions
Hey David, I put this in the general section of the forum but never got any responses. I thought I'd try here..
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Going through the interviews, I notice some folks who play the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd postion, have never explored the 4th, 5th or 12th positions. Andy Just, for example, says he uses the 2nd and 3rd position often, but has never explored the 5th or 12th positions.
That makes no sense to me. Isn't the 1st position the same as the 4th, the 2nd same as the 5th and 3rd same as the 12th?
For example, on an G harp:
1st G Maj = 4th E Min
2nd D Maj = 5th B Min
3rd A Min = 12th C Maj
So what am I missing. I learned the 6 positions above, in pentatonic, so that I could play many keys with one harp. But it felt like I really just learned 3 positons because the other 3 were pretty much the same, but with different starting points.
So how can Andy say he's never explored 12th position if he's already explored 3rd?
Thanks David, that makes sense. I wanted to make sure I'm not totally in the wrong direction with music theory but I think your lessons will cover more about positions after I get ahead on the levels. I thought I'd be a single note player and just use a few harps, my favorites keys being an A and G, to jam with a wide variety of music in different keys without buying too many harps. But as I am learning more, I'm liking chords and textures a lot! Who knows where I'll end up but I'm super greatful for your learning material. You've basically built a trail in the jungle that I spent too much time lost in.
It's good to look into those things, this is what will make you a very good player. The thing to keep in mind is that the nature of the harmonica is that you will need all 12 keys at some point. Where other instruments are expensive in the beginning (instruments that can play in all 12 keys), the harmonica is more on an installment plan... buy the keys as you need them.
Hello Rishió. Good thinking in regards to positions.
The difference lies in the actual application of these positions. Even though Bm is the relative minor of D, your emphasis while playing is different.
To play your home chord in 2nd Position (D F# A) you just play across the draw side of the harmonica. All of your chord, and its bends, are available to you without switching breath... this is one of the main reasons why 2nd Position is so great.
To play that same harmonica in its relative minor (B D #F) now your root note is a blow... which cannot be bent (less expression)... and requires you to switch your air stream from the root (B) to the other chord tones (D and F#). It seems like a small thing, but when you take into account the chordal nature of the blues... slaps, pulls, flutters, etc., all of these have the chord sounding momentarily before the single note, so having all of the chords tones “under your breath” caries importance as well. From a single-note perspective, these positions are valid to explore (and please do, you might find yourself to be a more single-note player), but generally for the blues player who plays a tremendous amount of chords, these positions are less desirable.