On a c major chromatic harmonica it sounds like this. An example of a chromatic blues harmonica piece is blues in the dark played by the legendary georg harmonica smith. On a c harmonica, these notes form a c major scale. Scale diagrams can also be labeled with either letters or scale degrees. But first lets look at what notes are available on the c harmonica. Harmonica articles, harmonica videos, learn about the harmonica. Now take a g harmonica and try the g blues scale in 1st position. Here are the three most common positions, or keys, played on the c harmonica with their corresponding blues scales.
George goodmans harmonica cheat sheets is a combination of four great tools to kick start your harmonica playing. Provides essential info for creating memorable chord progressions. Harmonica instruction study chart of harmonica keys. You can hear the scale here play it over the jam track, see where the notes fit. Harmonica wall chart wall chart mel bay publications. The sequence 2d 2d 2d will be hard for many, but worth practising to get it right. The most basic harmonica scale comprises the notes from the 4 hole blow to the 7 hole blow. Harmonica basics xiii harmonica lesson blues scale 1 octave in 2nd pos. Pentatonic scales are fivenote scales that sound good over just about any kind of music. Harmonica wall chart wall chart mel bay publications, inc.
Guitar man demonstrates how to play a basic harmonica blues scale and how to bend a note on a harmonica. These play along harmonica lessons teach blues harp players 101 fantastic blues riffs for the diatonic harmonica in c. The real blues scale in 2nd position harmonica lesson. The blues scale is three blow, three blow, three inhale or suck, four blow, four suck, five suck and six blow. After inserting an image or importing a pdf file, often time the objects and dimensions will not show their true length being that the image is. Playing the blues scale now that you can bend notes the next thing we should look at is the blues scale. Essential scales document, the c blues scale which is both the i chord blues scale in first position, and the iv chord blues scale in cross harp, correct. This weeks harmonica lesson will show you how to play the real blues scale in 2nd position.
You can also access our site through your mobile phone. To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can be both simplistic and yet intangibly tricky to master. It is so fundamental that many professional players continue to practice it daily. Achieve greater fluency on the blues harmonica, with awardwinning mat walklate using the c diatonic harmonica, mat covers topics like note bending, solo development, vibrato and playing in alternative positions to create great sounding solos over the 12 bar form. Once again, the most challenging part of the scale is switching the order of blowing and drawing between holes 7 and 6. These licks are to be played with a harmonica in the key of c.
First identify the tonic or root notes, which are 1b, 4b, 7b 10b. Using an eb harmonica a brief overview of how to play and use the pentatonic scale in three positionskeys over a typical blues progression. Below are some of my very own harmonica licks in tabulature form. Young english guitarists imitated american black blues guitarists. Reference material for the first time in blues harmonica history there is an abundance of lesson material available to study. The previous issue outlined ideas for practice, and introduced an exercise based on the major scale. Pentatonic scales wildflower harmonica instruction. We call this section basic blues harmonica improv, but the information here applies to most types of popular music you would like to jam to. Masterclass complete blues harmonica lesson fiddle time scales 1.
Chicago blues legend, little walter, discovered very early that blues can be played on a chromatic. Blues harmonica blues harp riffs, licks, jamming, and. The bluesbased british rock invasion of the late 1960s repopularized the blues, and helped to establish the harmonica as a rock as well as a blues instrument. This is just a series of seven notes which help the harmonica sound bluesy, so playing this scale over and over is excellent training. E blues scale on harmonica with ben harmonica hewlett in this lesson with professional player ben hewlett, get to note bending and converting the e minor pentatonic scale into an e blues scale on harmonica. Also try the 3rd position blues scale, that is, 4d 5d 6b 6d 6d 7b 8d. This pdf contains the scale charts for the blues scale in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. If youre practicing the blues scale, then choose a bluesy jam track, or even better, a minor jam track, this way if you accidentally step outside of the blues scale, or play a bent note out of tune like the 3, youll know it right away. How to play pentatonic and blues scales on the harmonica. Rhythm willie as simply a blues harmonica player might be slightly unfair, and. Collection of free tablature and sheet music for harmonica in pdf format. Bobs blues harmonica the harmonica is a very powerful instrument.
So, by blues scale, we mean r, b3, 4, b5, 5, b7, o, correct. Some years back i spent much of a summer holiday playing this exercise with a metronome. If you blow out exhale on any three holes of the harmonica. Use the chart to find out whether the note is played by blowing or drawingdair. You will learn single notes, chords, rhythms, tongue blocking, blues scale notes, use of the button. This is a super quick lesson on how to play the blues scale on harmonica in 2nd position. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Blues scale practice for diatonic harmonica warm up by trying the following with bends if possible. Often new players are drawn to the instrument because of a desire to play the blues. You can get more charts in with custom tunings using my interactive scale generator here. This page shows how the blues scale can be played in three different keys on a single harmonica. This gives you an idea of just how important it is. Gordon is he feels, one of his most important books because of the nature of the blues scale and how it is used to improvise in many styles of contemporary music. There are some notes which jar with the iv chord so i suggest that you practice playing it over the 1st 4 bars of the 12 bar sequence i chord and then revert to the blues scale for the iv chord.
Although solotuned instruments are not well suited for blues playing, they are ideal for playing melodies and are simpler to learn. For now, if you have a chromatic harmonica try the five hole splits on both types of harp. Heres a chart that lays out pentatonic scales in six positions click on the image to download the fullsized chart pdf a member of the modern. For the major pentatonic scale use a jam track with a light feel, like a rhumba or swing. Blues harmonica improv, what about other styles of music. The solution below shows the a blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef since the key of a appears on the circle of fifths diagram as both a major and minor key, the lesson steps explain both ways of constructing this blues scale for this key the 1st construction, using the major scale, starts at lesson 3 the 2nd construction, using the minor. Harmonica chord cheat sheet all major keys or scales consist of 7 notes. Cross harp blues cross harp, or second position, is what you get when you play in the key of g on a c harmonica. This is the basics of blues chromatic harmonica playing. Mel bay a reference chart for the 10hole major diatonic harmonica and chromatic harmonica. How to properly scale an image or pdf after inserting into autocad.
Understand, however, that you can perform any song in any key by simply using a differentkeyed harmonica. Other musicians popularized the harmonica as a rock instrument. And because they use fewer notes than the standard 7note scales, pentatonics make it easier to play in multiple keys on one harmonica. With the technique of bending, a very bluesysounding scale, called the blues scale, is possible. Starting at the bottom, the notes are 1b 2b 2d 2d 2d 3d 4b. This time we look at the blues scale, and how it can enrich you. Dont get me wrong on this, its perfectly legitamite to use the minor pentatonic scale over dominant blues chords.
Second position blues solos often start with a 4d note. Learn what notes make up the scale and how to play it. Jp allen gives a harmonica lesson on the basic blues scale. The blues scale is a foundational element of blues harmonica playing. Includes an explanation of harmonica notation and tablature, plus a diagram of the. So, when i play this scale, im visualizing the scale step that im on. Blues scale in 12 positions the notes below are for a harp in the key of c, but the tab holds for any key harmonica e. Here are the harmonica tabs for going down the major scale. While some benefit will come from practicing up and down this scale, most musical passages use bits of the scale only, and not always starting from the bottom c. With the technique of bending, a very bluesysounding scale, called the blues. David barrett presents a useful and informative book of scales and scalebased exercises for the harmonica. Harmonica scales for beginners while learning to play. I have also included the 5 box patterns you need to learn in.
The key of the harmonica is usually stamped on the metal or painted on the wood someplace. The fretboard is shown with the lowest pitch string at the bottom and the highest pitch string at the top unless youve tuned your instrument differently. Because blues is a simple, consistant form of music, it is a great place to begin your improv regardless of which musical styles you to play. Rock, country, blues, folk, and world music all make extensive use of pentatonic sounds. Get the autocad civil 3d premium course and free download pdf book reference training manual. If you are wishing to order the pdfmp3 files please go to the correct page as this product is for the pdf file only.
How to play the major pentatonic scale on harmonica. How to play a basic harmonica blues scale harmonica. A c harmonica can be played in the key of c in what is called first position and in the key of g in what is called 2d position. Pentatonic scales play in six different keys on one harmonica. Then try the following go crazy insert bendsextra noteschords wherever desired. Specifically, using a c harp i will provide harmonica tablature to play the blues scale in c first position, g second position, and d third position. The major pentatonic scale does not work on the whole 12 bar sequence. Blues scales blues is an irresistible tonality for a guitar player. The e minor pentatonic scale on harmonica has a unique sound that drives most blues music.
The music of rhythm willie can be at once a blues harmonica fans. Student guide for solotuned harmonica part i diatonic. The solution below shows the db blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef since the key of db appears on the circle of fifths diagram as a major key, lesson 3 explains how to construct the blues scale based on the major scale, for this key for a quick summary of this topic, have a look at blues scale. Show me chords that sound good with an a blues scale. I have also included the 5 box patterns you need to learn in order to memorize the blues scales in all keys.
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