Frying my brain over minor harps

[TonyA]

Hi there,
New to the forum & this is my first post. Happy to meet you all!
My level; have played in a couple blues bands, can jump up and join in successfully at jam sessions.
My problem - minor keys!
Ok, if the band’s playing in E, I play in A. That’s easy.
If the band’s playing in Bm, I play my natural minor which is labelled by Lee Oskar as a Bm, but is actually in the key of E so fits the 5 semitones up system.
But what am I supposed to do with a MM or natural minor harp? I’ve got 2 Lee Oskars, one labelled MM Eb, and one MM HC. What guitar keys can I play along to with them?
I don’t understand music theory; it goes over my head. When I tried to play saxophone I couldn’t cope with it being a Bb instrument and trying to transpose everything so I blanked out the note names in my teaching book and overwrote them with the note that blowing that hole made on a piano. Made things much easier for me to understand! That’s the kind of simplicity I need with a harmonica:-)
I appreciate any helpful advice, and look forward to my experience here on the site!
Thanks in advance,
Tony

[Luke]

Natural Minor is so easy! It’s 2nd position, but now in minor. I think you’ll love it. Check this out. LMK if further questions…

Natural Minor Will Explode Your Harp Game (+ Natural Mystic on Am w/Tabs)

[Natural Minor Will Explode Your Harp Game] Standard tuned harps are awesome. MOST of the time I play standard 10-hole diatonic harmonicas. When we say “Standard tuned harp” we are referring to the Richter tuning, named after the 19th century harmonica maker Joseph Richter: Blow holes play the chord in the key of the harmonica, and draw holes 1-4 play the dominant V7 chord (a G chord on a C harmonica). The major scale in the key of the harmonica is played between holes 4 and 7. …

Also this one:

Why You Should Try a Minor Harp (Natural Minor vs Harmonic Minor)

[Natural Minor and Harmonic Minor Harps] Last month I wrote about why Natural Minor harmonicas are awesome. (If you missed it you can read about it here as well as check out this video of me playing Natural Mystic on an Am Natural Minor Harmonica: [Natural Mystic Lee Oskar Am Natural Minor Harmonica] But here’s the gist: Natural Minor harmonicas are: Labeled in 2nd position (A Gm Natural Minor is in the same range as a C standard tuned harmonica) Here’s a Gm Natural Mino…

[Andy2]

Me too, I’m not big on music theory and due to my autism I now substitute the numbers for notes, I was never always this way I was pretty good with numbers when I was a kid it’s something that’s developed as I’ve grown older. Guitar tab is a nightmare and harmonica tab I find confusing.

[Andy2]

I think with the Minors it’s basically getting used to how they sound, but I will put my hand up and say when I first started playing in Minors even though I knew the positions I just thought they sound off, and I had great difficulty getting my head around them. Gradually I got there but being honest because I play mostly by ear I struggled to comprehend the shift in tones. It drove me nuts for a few months

[Luke]

@Andy2 what brand and kind of minor harps have you been playing?

[Andy2]

The few I’ve got are Hohners SP20.

[Luke]

Aw, to me the way they label them is confusing. It’d be better if they’d label them in 2nd position, like Lee Oskar does.

Why? What they call a “C Natural Minor” tuning actually plays 2nd position in the key of G Natural Minor.

So to me, it’s very confusing to call it “C Natural Minor.”