What Next?
Wed, 06/19/2013 - 12:18
Hi David...I am currently in an acoustic guitar duo. Although some of our songs are in the blues category, many are not. I'd like to be able to play harmonica on other types of songs also. Some of our songs are in a minor key, some have a pop strum feel, some are in open tunings, etc. What would you recommend I look to on your site? Would 1st position help me? I am probably an early intermediate in terms of skill level. I haven't tried to learn my high end bends yet, if that helps you at all, but I am pretty good at the low bends. Thanks...
Hello Francis.
2nd Position generally works well in most styles of music... but learning 1st and 3rd will be a great asset to your playing. 3rd Position tends to be a good solution for songs in minor (less "watch out for these notes") and 1st Position tends to work well for blues as well as folk tunes (folk tunes with the major 7th to be very specific). Also, when a hook is present in a song, some positions can deal with that hook more appropriately.
Check out the lesson on "Understand Position Playing" and then dig into Study 1 of both 3rd Position and 1st Position. At first you'll need to work all your parts for the songs you're playing... down the road you'll be able to improvise as you get more songs in these positions under your belt
Have fun!