Hello all,
looking for some gear guidance and understanding.
Progress:
A year and a half in and am very pleased with where progress - and am loving playing, learning, failing, succeeding, stumbling and surprising myself once in a while.
Realization:
Started playing to learn blues - along the way I found I like folky (petty, young, Dillon etc… Also discovered that when it comes to improv, I dig minor funk.
New Gear:
Looking to get 3 new harmonicas.
Current gear is a G Crossover, C sp20 and an A fender blues deville that just doesn’t have a very rich tone. Getting a new A - I’ll most likely stick with Hohner maybe another Crossover also been considering trying rocket amp.
Considering buying 2 minor harmonicas. As mentioned above I like to improvise over funk especially in A minor and D minor (G & C harmonica 3rd position)
Minor tuned Questions:
I’ve read a lot of posts in our community forum about minor tuned harmonicas. And 2 things are not clear to me…
would getting minor tuned harmonica expand capabilities and note selections compared to 3rd position?
it’s confusing which keys to choose - if I want an A minor and a D minor? It seems less straight forward than I thought.
Does this question even make sense
Hi Mike, I’m about 2 years in, so a little ahead of you in duration but I don’t have any technical knowledge so can’t give you much advice. If I knew when I started, that I could play as I now can, I would have been very pleased. But my perspective has changed, so now that I’m here I’m a bit frustrated that I can’t play better. I thought I was showing some delayed gratification by only having 7 harmonicas, so I’m very impressed with your restraint, If I could only keep one of my harps, it would be my Rocket Amp in A.
I feel ya @PapaCurly I understand-I’ve hit that frustration wall with certain things at different points in my life too and I know many others who have as well - your not alone brother.
I don’t really like improvising with my natural Dm harmonica. I feel like when it comes to playing in minor, third position is better because that /-6 feels so damn good. If you want to jam in Dm I’d recommend sticking to third positions with a C harp.
But that’s just my opinion, I know that I bought a D natural minor harp last year and don’t use it very often.
Also, regarding note selection, if you don’t know how to blow bend / overblow, if you play in second position (which you would on a minor tuned harp) you only have the middle octave “fully covered”. If you stick to third position, you can get quite comfortable with the -3"', -3", -2" and have two octaves to have fun with (from -1 to -8) !
@cloves-fibs0f - thanks for the update! Glad the journey is going well.
For the G harp, if you’re sticking with Hohner, I’d highly recommend a Marine Band Deluxe. I prefer the tone to the Crossover, better tuning for chords than the Crossover, and it’s cheaper to boot!
3rd position in it’s easiest form is best for a “Dorian sound” (Minor with a major 6th scale degree. D to D on the white keys. Riders on the Storm, One Como Va, So What, Messin’ With the Kid…)
Natural Minor harp plays in “Natural Minor.” So you’ve got the minor 6th scale degree accessible. (A-A on the white keys, The Thrill is Gone, Saint James Infirmary…) It’s really nice if you have a i and a iv in the chord progression, you can play those chords.
vs
Regarding Key labels - Lee Oskar labels them in the 2nd position key. So if you want to play an Am blues, you ordered an Am harp.
I ordred a Hohner Natural Minor from my customizer and asked for an Am Natural Minor, and what I got is a harmonica that plays in Em!! Oof. To me it’s weird that it’s labeled “A Natural Minor” when that’s not the key you can play in. I’m not sure if that was him. I think that’s how Hohner labels them. So just ask if you’re buying a Hohner and confirm. But I beleive a “C Natural Minor” Hohner harmonica plays 2nd position in the key of Gm. So confusing!
So you’ve got the minor 6th scale degree accessible. (A-A on the white keys, The Thrill is Gone, Saint James Infirmary…) It’s really nice if you have a i and a iv in the chord progression, you can play those chords.
To me it’s weird that it’s labeled “A Natural Minor” when that’s not the key you can play in. I’m not sure if that was him. I think that’s how Hohner labels them. So just ask if you’re buying a Hohner and confirm. But I beleive a “C Natural Minor” Hohner harmonica plays 2nd position in the key of Gm. So confusing!