> I guess I really don't understand much about positions and modes. I
> understand enough of the theory to get by, but I really don't
> understand how it would impact my playing...
I can think of few things which generate as much comment and
controversy on the various harmonica lists as the subject of
positions (and modes). It is a never-ending story: someone "new"
to the subject will ask a simple question, and "It's like deja-vu,
all over again." (Yogi Berra, a famous Yankees baseball manager).
I'll try to take a shot at answering your specific questions. If the
short answers are sufficient, please disregard the longer answers.
Otherwise, you will have more and more questions, which will
require longer and longer answers, and then "It's like deja-vu,
all over again."
In what follows, I'm ASSUMING you are using a diatonic harp,
based on your discovery of the missing "F#" note when playing
in cross harp (2nd position) on your "C" harp. If you are playing
a chromatic, that's an entirely different discussion, and I'm not
going to address THAT. (I have to draw the line SOMEWHERE!)
Question 1: So, what is the use of the positions?
Short Answer 1: The purpose of positions is to quickly locate a
particular KEY of music on a particular KEY of harmonica. That
is ALL - and it is INSUFFICIENT! (You'll have to read through
Longer Answer 1 to find out WHY.)
Longer Answer 1: "Positions" are nothing more than a relationship
(based on the Circle of Fifths) between the KEY of the harmonica
and the KEY of the music to be played.
Here's a "helpful hint": go to the Files section of this group, and
locate the file named "Circle_of_Fifths_20050403.pdf". Download
and print it on very stiff (card stock) paper. Cut out the two wheels.
Punch a small hole through both wheels. Join together with an eyelet.
Voila! You have a VERY useful FREE musical tool that will fit in your
gig bag. It has a lot of theory information encoded on those two
wheels, including "positions". (BTW, I designed it, so feel free to ask
questions about it, use it, abuse it - but don't try to copyright it and
sell it.)
Using the tool, set the red arrow (reference pointer for major keys) to
the key of the HARMONICA. That is position "1". Going clockwise
around the Circle of Fifths, the "position" numbers increase. All you
need to know is to read the position number (outlined Arabic
numerals) on the inner wheel and the corresponding MUSIC KEY for
that position on the outer wheel. Simple, n'est ce pas?
Let's use your example above. Your harmonica is keyed for "C" and
your song is keyed in "G". Set the little red arrow at "C" (key of HARP).
Find the MUSIC KEY "G" on the outer edge. Read the outlined Arabic
numeral 2. So, to play in the MUSIC KEY "G" using a HARP KEY "C",
you play in 2nd position.
Here's the "hitch in the git-along": the harp is DIATONIC (meaning:
within the scale), not CHROMATIC (which means you have all possible
"colors" (notes) available). The notes that naturally occur on the "C" diatonic
are the notes of the "C" major scale - which does NOT include any
sharp or flat notes. There are 7 MODAL scales available - which use
all (and ONLY) the corresponding major scale notes.
Here's the correspondence between "positions" and MODAL scales:
Position 1: IONIAN modal scale (major scale)
Position 2: MIXOLYDIAN modal scale
Position 3: DORIAN modal scale
Position 4: AEOLIAN modal scale (natural minor scale)
Position 5: PHRYGIAN modal scale
Position 6: LOCRIAN modal scale
Position 12: LYDIAN modal scale
Let's use the "C" major scale as a reference. (It works the same for any
major key.) Here are the starting notes (scale degrees) and wholetone
-halftone interval sequences (denoted by hyphens) for one octave of
the "C" major scale.
Starting at scale degree 1: C--D--E-F--G--A--B-C (IONIAN)
Starting at scale degree 2: D--E-F--G--A--B-C--D (DORIAN)
Starting at scale degree 3: E-F--G--A--B-C--D--E (PHRYGIAN)
Starting at scale degree 4: F--G--A--B-C--D--E-F (LYDIAN)
Starting at scale degree 5: G--A--B-C--D--E-F--G (MIXOLYDIAN)
Starting at scale degree 6: A--B-C--D--E-F--G--A (AEOLIAN)
Starting at scale degree 7: B-C--D--E-F--G--A--B (LOCRIAN)
Nary a sharp or flat to be found!
If you want to play a "G" major scale, you'll have to play the
following notes: G--A--B-C--D--E--F#-G. That means you have
to "pick your poison": play the notes on a "G" harp in 1st position
OR switch to playing a chromatic harp OR buy a harmonica that
has been specially tuned (or retune it yourself), such as "Country"
tuning OR learn how to bend (and overbend) notes on the diatonic
in order to produce the "missing" sharps and flats (effectively
turning the DIATONIC into a CHROMATIC).
Question 2: Why do I care?
Short Answer 2: You really don't have to care: "He who is unaware
of his ignorance will only be misled by his knowledge."
Longer Answer 2: Many songs are written implicitly in a particular
"mode". If you are knowledgeable about major and minor keys, you
are already conversant with two of the "modes". The drawback is
that most people do NOT know how to determine the "mode" of a
song, even when the alternatives are limited to IONIAN (major
scale) and AEOLIAN (natural minor scale). If you can determine the
"mode" of the song, then it becomes easier to pick a harmonica
that makes it easier to play in the key of the song (for example,
without requiring as many bends or overbends), or that provides
for certain tonal expressions such as sliding a bend, trilling, etc.
Question 3: How can this information be applied to my playing?
Short Answer 3: Aha, THERE'S THE RUB!
Longer Answer 3: If you are aware of the relative positions between
the key of the harp and the key of the music, you will know which
holes to use to quickly get to the appropriate notes. Some of the
required notes (for a specific song) may fall out naturally (without
bends or overbends) in a given position. By playing in that position,
it makes the song easier to play. (I'm assuming you are NOT one of
those macho people who subscribe to the "No pain, no gain!"
theory of endeavor, and consequently, try to make playing as
hard as possible at all times.)
Let's look back at your example song. You obviously need an "F#"
to play a "G" major scale. That is NOT a "natural" note on the "C"
harp. I'll assume you don't want to retune your harp every time you
play a different song, and don't want to buy a specially tuned harp
for every song. You MUST learn how to bend or overbend on a
regular Richter-tuned diatonic to get the "missing" note(s) in the
various positions (and the missing notes in the lower and upper
registers as well).
First, determine the 7 notes in the scale plus the octave note. (Yes,
I am well aware that there are many other "scales" which do not have
7 scale degrees, such as the pentatonic, blues scale, etc. Please just
go along with me, okay?!) For the "G" major scale, you have:
G--A--B-C--D--E--F#-G
Next, locate the tonic note (scale degree 1) of the desired MUSIC scale
on your harp. For our example, that would be a "G" note. It is located
in hole 2 draw, hole 3 blow, hole 6 blow, hole 9 blow on the "C" harp.
Next, determine if there is a whole or partial scale available on each
of those starting points. If not, determine what must be done to
"fill in" the missing notes.
I'll eliminate starting on hole 9 blow, because there is no way to get
a complete octave starting on hole 9; we run out of notes. (Note: I'm
ASSUMING a 10-hole diatonic here.)
Hole 2 draw as starting point:
Hole 2 draw: G
Hole 3 draw, wholetone bend: A
Hole 3 draw: B
Hole 4 blow: C
Hole 4 draw: D
Hole 5 blow: E
Hole 5 draw, overbend: F#
Hole 6 blow: G
Hole 3 blow as starting point:
Hole 3 blow: G
Hole 3 draw, wholetone draw bend: A
Hole 3 draw: B
Hole 4 blow: C
Hole 4 draw: D
Hole 5 blow: E
Hole 5 draw, overbend: F#
Hole 6 blow: G
Hole 6 blow as starting point:
Hole 6 blow: G
Hole 6 draw: A
Hole 7 draw: B
Hole 7 blow: C
Hole 8 draw: D
Hole 8 blow: E
Hole 9 draw, halftone blow bend: F#
Hole 9 blow: G
Hmmm, if it were me, I'd try to play the song using the last option,
starting on hole 6 blow, simply because I can hit that hole 9 blow
bend - and I can NOT hit those overbends!
Please note that using ANY of the three possibilities above still means
that you are playing the harp in 2nd position.
> You mentioned that most people cannot tell in which mode a song is
> written. Dunno about most, but I cannot! Can you? If so, can you
> share how to tell?
Believe it or not (Ripley), this one is actually easier than it seems, IMHO.
The starting point is the key signature. That establishes the "natural"
notes in the corresponding scale (NOT the mode). That means figuring
out the key based on the number of sharps or flats (or absence of
sharps/flats, in the case of "C" major or "A" minor).
That part is drop-dead EASY, if you made one of those Circle of Fifth
wheels that I mentioned previously. (It's still out there in the Files section
for this group.) The corresponding key signature (number of sharps/flats)
is found directly under each key on the outer wheel.
Again, let's use your example of playing the song "Jesus, Lover of My
Soul" (the worship chorus) in "G" major. Looking at "G" on the wheel,
that's a key signature of 1 sharp. Hmmm, that's a start, but WHICH note
is that 1 sharp?!?
Put the little red arrow at "G". Now read off the NOTES on the outer wheel
that correspond to the UPPERCASE Roman numerals on the inner wheel.
Flattened out, it should look something like this:
I = G
II = A
III = B
IV = C
V = D
VI = E
VII = F#
The seventh scale degree is the sharped note F#. Note that we are laying
out the notes of the "G" MAJOR scale, which is the same as IONIAN mode.
Once we know what notes are in the scale, we can determine the notes in
each of the "modes".
It is a truism of Western music that almost all of it starts on or ends with
the tonic chord. (Yes, Amelia, there ARE exceptions - to everything
theoretical.) In plain English, that means the song "resolves" (will end on)
a chord made up of (at least) scale degrees 1, 3 and 5 of the corresponding
scale AND mode.
Here are the 7 modes using the "G" major scale as the basis:
Starting at scale degree 1: G--A--B-C--D--E--F#-G (IONIAN)
Starting at scale degree 2: A--B-C--D--E--F#-G--A (DORIAN)
Starting at scale degree 3: B-C--D--E--F#-G--A--B (PHRYGIAN)
Starting at scale degree 4: C--D--E--F#-G--A--B-C (LYDIAN)
Starting at scale degree 5: D--E--F#-G--A--B-C--D (MIXOLYDIAN)
Starting at scale degree 6: E--F#-G--A--B-C--D--E (AEOLIAN)
Starting at scale degree 7: F#-G--A--B-C--D--E--F# (LOCRIAN)
All of these modes have a key signature of 1 sharp:
"G" IONIAN (Same notes as the major scale)
"A" DORIAN
"B" PHRYGIAN
"C" LYDIAN
"D" MIXOLYDIAN
"E" AEOLIAN (Same notes as the natural minor scale)
"F#" LOCRIAN
Determine the last chord in the song (usually ending on a whole note,
dotted half note, or tied notes, so that the last tone is held).
I'll assume that you know how to read the notes of that last chord,
one at a time, on the sheet music. (This does NOT require sight
reading ability; you do this process away from the harmonica BEFORE
you try to play the song.)
BTW, I tried to find a version of the song in "G", without success. I also
found several different tunes with that title, so I'm totally lost as to the
actual last chord on your sheet music. You'll have to look at it, and
figure it out. Ask for help from your wife - after all, she is your "help"
mate! (I certainly couldn't let that pass by, unremarked!)
Let's ASSUME (for illustrative purposes ONLY) that the basic triad (scale
degrees 1-3-5) of that last chord contains the notes E-G-B. That's NOT
the basic triad for the tonic chord of "G" major, which would be G-B-D!
(Ignore any inversions; I'll assume root "inversion".)
If you look back up at the notes of each mode above, you'll see that the
mode which has scale degrees 1-3-5 corresponding to E-G-B is the
AEOLIAN mode. That's just a fancy way of saying that the song is in Em
(E minor)!
As another example, let's assume that the basic triad of that last chord
contains the notes A-C-E (scale degrees 1-3-5). The song would then
be in A DORIAN, which is a kind of minor key.
"And so it goes" (to quote Linda Ellerbee).
Why is this true? Because most Western music wants to start on the tonic,
move away from the tonic, and eventually return to the tonic. You use that
knowledge to figure out things about the song, such as the closest mode.
BTW, here's a little more information about the modes.
IONIAN - MAJOR
DORIAN - MINOR
PHRYGIAN - MINOR
LYDIAN - MAJOR
MIXOLYDIAN - MAJOR
AEOLIAN - MINOR
LOCRIAN - DIMINISHED
And now for more of that theory stuff embedded in that tool.
If you place the red arrow at the major key, the green box will
be pointing to the corresponding relative minor key (the natural
minor key with the same key signature as "G"). For example, if
you place the red arrow at "G", the relative minor key will be "E".
If you look at the info above, you find that "E" (with 1 sharp in
the key signature) is AEOLIAN mode.
So what is the big deal about THAT? Just this: Since the natural
minor scale (AEOLIAN mode) uses exactly the SAME notes as the
relative major scale, you can play minor songs on your major key
harps!!!
Where does that natural minor scale start on a 10-hole Richter-tuned
diatonic? ALWAYS on the 6th scale degree note. Use the following
chart to "finger" it out:
Hole 4 blow = Scale degree 1
Hole 4 draw = Scale degree 2
Hole 5 blow = Scale degree 3
Hole 5 draw = Scale degree 4
Hole 6 blow = Scale degree 5
Hole 6 draw = Scale degree 6 (Pay very close attention HERE!)
Hole 7 draw = Scale degree 7
Hole 7 blow = Scale degree 8
Starting on hole 6 draw, there is a COMPLETE natural minor scale
available, going "up" the harp. This is the relative minor (AEOLIAN
mode) corresponding to the key of the harp (assuming the harp is
tuned for a major key).
The same is true for all of the other modes. Because the notes remain
the same for all modes (based on a particular major scale), there will
always be a starting location on the diatonic harp which allows all
notes of each mode to be played (without bending or overbending).
Here are the starting locations for ALL modes (assuming you are
playing "up" the harp from the low end towards the high end):
Hole 4 blow: IONIAN mode (major scale) - STRAIGHT harp
Hole 4 draw: DORIAN mode - DRAW (or slant or double-crossed) harp
Hole 5 blow: PHRYGIAN mode
Hole 5 draw: LYDIAN mode
Hole 6 blow: MIXOLYDIAN mode - CROSS harp
Hole 6 draw: AEOLIAN mode (natural minor scale)
Hole 3 draw: LOCRIAN mode
Note that a complete set of scale notes for LOCRIAN mode beginning
on hole 7 draw is not available without blow bending hole 10. That's
the only reason for starting the LOCRIAN mode on hole 3 draw.
For traditional church music, LOCRIAN is virtually unused. It was merely
a "theoretical" mode for a long time - until jazz began to evolve from
the basic blues structure. Now it is used quite a bit for improvization
in jazz. Go figure...and NO, I'm N-O-T a "jazzer", although I love the
early (pre-bebop) jazz sound!
Of course, with bending/overbending, you can play these scales (and
lots more, such as pentatonic, blues, etc.) starting at other places on
the lowly diatonic "toy" harp. Who woulda thunk it?!?
I think I've demonstrated WHY some knowledge of music theory is VERY
useful to harp players. You may not sight read sheet music, but theory can
help you to (eventually) have a better understanding of what can be played.
It's like a toolbox full of different kinds of tools: it extends the precision
that you can bring to bear on the problem at hand. Without some knowledge
of music theory, you are only limited by your imagination - and some people
never realize just how limited their imagination is!
Here are some philosophical tidbits:
The whole world looks like a nail - to a five-year old with a hammer!
A fool with a tool - is still a fool!
[Another little bit of tool trivia: the parallel blue lines mark the parallel
minor. (I'll leave that unexplained until asked, because it's not germane
to the current discussion.)]
Please remember that I "warned" you that one question (and answer)
WILL lead to more questions - and answers, hopefully. LOL! That's how
we LEARN, and I hope this is still clear. Enjoy the learning process!
Posted to the Christian Harmonica group on Yahoo by Robert P Coble.