Here are the three most common positions, or keys, played on the c harmonica with their corresponding blues scales. When you play in a minor pentatonic, you are using the same notes and using the same scale as the major pentatonic scale in c but you are resolving ending. But you have to find them in the middle of the bend because. You can get more charts in with custom tunings using my interactive scale generator here. Pentatonic scales wildflower harmonica instruction. Understand, however, that you can perform any song in any key by simply using a differentkeyed harmonica. So, when i play this scale, im visualizing the scale step that im on. This gives you an idea of just how important it is. If the band is playing in key of g, find g on the circle of fifths andd go counterclockwise left once. Play major scale in 1st, 2nd, 3rd position harmonica how to. Find your harmonica harmonicaconfigurator table of positions tone tables pdf. This is just a series of seven notes which help the harmonica sound bluesy, so playing this scale over and over is excellent training.
Why learning more than one scale pattern is beneficial. Often new players are drawn to the instrument because of a desire to play the blues. Blues harmonica blues harp riffs, licks, jamming, and. Student guide for solotuned harmonica part i diatonic. There are two pentatonic scales, major pentatonic and minor pentatonic. And because they use fewer notes than the standard 7note scales, pentatonics make it easier to play in multiple keys on one harmonica.
Reference material for the first time in blues harmonica history there is an abundance of lesson material available to study. Find blues harmonica stock images in hd and millions of other royaltyfree stock photos, illustrations and vectors in the shutterstock collection. With a c harp,find c on the circle of fifths and go clockwise once, tell the band to play in the key of g. This course is designed to teach beginner level players the basics of playing the 12hole solotuned diatonic harmonica, which is tuned differently from the standard 10hole diatonic instrument. 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. F blues scale f, ab, bb, b, c, eb, f when playing a twelve bar blues in the key of bb, use the bb blues scale. Here are the harmonica tabs for going down the major scale. Dec 21, 2017 the pentatonic scale consists of five notes. Pentatonic scales play in six different keys on one. This pdf contains the scale charts for the blues scale in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. You can also access our site through your mobile phone. Pentatonic scales play in six different keys on one harmonica. Play jazz blues in 11th position on the harmonica how to.
The solution below shows the db blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. Figure 5 chromatic scale musicians tend to like to use the visual reference of the piano for this same information. How to play a basic harmonica blues scale harmonica. Blues scale practice for diatonic harmonica warm up by trying the following with bends if possible. May 08, 2012 gussows classic blues harmonica videos 1,272,471 views 16. This is quite a bit more sophisticated than just playing through the blues scale shape and hoping for. Learn the pentatonic blues scales on electric guitar how to. The blues scale is a foundational element of blues harmonica playing. The extra note is the 4 draw bend also known as the the flat five.
Read on for a complete blues scale guitar lesson the basic blues scale guitar pattern. 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. Play a drone blues riff with your harmonica how to. How to play the diatonic harmonica in the key of c. 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. 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 blues harmonica forum posted these breath patterns his name is john potts. Referencing the chromatic scale above, this gives us the note d. Thousands of new, highquality pictures added every day. Blues, pop, rock, country chromatic harmonicas offer all 12 notes of the chromatic scale, permitting them to be played in all keys without any special techniques.
Oct 16, 2010 blues scale practice for diatonic harmonica warm up by trying the following with bends if possible. The goal is to get you playing better blues by understanding what youre playing over, so in this installment im going to take you through some exercises that will allow you to become more fluent in all 12 keys. How to play the blues scale in 2nd position on harmonica. The blues scale and its use the blues scale consists of the following. Bb, db, eb, e, f, ab, bb the blues scale can also be used over minor chords when the minor chord is sounded for 2, 4. A subtle but important point is how far to bend the 3d. Begin by strumming a basic blues shuffle in the key of g. You can play the blues scale with any g instrument. Sh1 solo harmonica study 1 blues harmonica lessons.
What is the difference between a pentatonic scale and a blues. Gussows classic blues harmonica videos 1,272,471 views 16. Im on level 3, accomp study 3 chords, and confused about the difference between the blues scale and the blues notes. Play a blues based intro to 11th position on harmonica. Classical music, jazz tremolo harmonicas are tuned to individual major scales. The 20 notes of the diatonic harmonica cover a range of three octaves. In order to cycle through as many areas of scale practice as possible and not get bored it is important to have a plan. The blues scale is three blow, three blow, three inhale or suck, four blow, four suck, five suck and six blow. I have also included the 5 box patterns you need to learn in order to memorize the blues scales in all keys. The arrows and numbers below indicate how to play the blues scale. Although solotuned instruments are not well suited for blues.
They are arranged in such a way that only the middle octave contains a complete eightnote scale. Then try the following go crazy insert bendsextra noteschords wherever desired. When using these bends for bluesy affect, its commonly. Figure 6 piano keyboard 1 draw is the note d and the 1 blow is the note c on the harmonica. For example, a minor is the relative minor of c major. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. This time we look at the blues scale, and how it can enrich you. After world war ii, a large relocation of blacks from the rural south to the urban north took place. 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.
Dont put it off until tomorrow or until you have the scale under better control. Includes an explanation of harmonica notation and tablature, plus a diagram of the blowdraw notes on four of the most common types of harmonicas. What is the difference between a pentatonic scale and a. David barrett presents a useful and informative book of scales and scale based exercises for the harmonica. For playing melodies all the eight notes from of the major scale are placed in holes 4 to 7. Playing the blues scale now that you can bend notes the next thing we should look at is the blues scale. Blues harmonica improv, what about other styles of music. Blues harmonica beginner blues harp riffs and licks, jamming, and bluesharp instruction. An essentially ninenote blues scale is defined by benward and saker as a chromatic variation of the major scale featuring a flat third and seventh degrees in effect substitutions from dorian mode which, alternating with the normal third and seventh scale degrees are used to create the blues inflection. For example, if i wanted to play a blues scale in c, i would use a harmonica in the. Sep 06, 2017 the blues scale is a foundational element of blues harmonica playing. Jp allen gives a harmonica lesson on the basic blues scale. In this book was a chart depicting the 5 pentatonic scale modes starting from. The chromatic scale lists every note available in our western european diatonic music system.
Its really a blue note over the minor pentatonic scale 1,b3,4,b5,5,b7. Play in g major second position 2 draw or 6 blow is tonic play in e. So the root note of the major scale can be found in hole 3 blow the name of. Rock, country, blues, folk, and world music all make extensive use of pentatonic sounds. The longest musical phrase begins with a single note. Blues harmonica riffs beginner bluesharp instruction and licks. Blues scale sections learn the value of not just learning a scale up and down, but instead dividing the 2nd position blues scale into smaller bitesize chunks, which can then be used as blues riffs. The 3d note is a b on a c harmonica, the 3d is normally a bb, and the 3d is an a.
On this page youll find blues scale guitar tab, patterns and notation that will allow you to play blues scales all over the guitar neck. By the 1920s, when recording companies began to look for blues acts, blues harp was a common sound in the southern part of the united states. If you use that note as the tonic and play the same notes as in the major pentatonic scale, you are playing the minor pentatonic scale. For a quick summary of this topic, have a look at blues scale. 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. Pentatonic scales are fivenote scales that sound good over just about any kind of music. Almost all music genres being born in the last hundred years come from blues above all in notclassical music. In this blues guitar lesson we will start to look at how to choose your notes in the blues scale to fit the over chords in the 12bar blues progression.
Hybrid scales how to combine the major and minor pentatonic. Blues scales are the most famous sounds of the xx century music. For the major pentatonic scale use a jam track with a light feel, like a rhumba or swing. Bending notes are essential to play blues on the harmonica. Some years back i spent much of a summer holiday playing this exercise with a metronome. One of the main purposes of my premier guitar lessons is to help improve your chord skills, fretboard knowledge, and phrasing. With the technique of bending, a very bluesysounding scale, called the blues scale, is possible. Blues music scales chart for jazz improvisation jazz theory. The most common bends are draw bends, especially on the lower notes. If you are just starting out, take a look at the beginning blues. Notice how good the scale sounds with blues notice also that an old valve amplifier has been used to fatten up the harmonica sound.
To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can be both simplistic and yet intangibly tricky to master. Once again, the most challenging part of the scale is switching the order of blowing and drawing between holes 7 and 6. Harmonica scales for beginners while learning to play. Blues scales blues is an irresistible tonality for a guitar player. Guitar man demonstrates how to play a basic harmonica blues scale and how to bend a note on a harmonica. Blues scales are used in many musical kinds for example in blues, jazz, rock and roll, funk, soul rhythm and blues, dance, pop. Lee oskar quickguide updated20pg lee oskar harmonicas. It is so fundamental that many professional players continue to practice it daily.
47 385 907 451 920 1192 1566 296 1052 832 443 1311 408 842 837 204 333 1059 1373 1397 994 209 775 411 131 1371 10 660 485 136 547 761 227 369 1510 820 1266 1016 1327 257 612 1420 1488 949 1212 956 175 177 1377 1358 1452