That said, overblowing and note-bending techniques plus playing in alternate “positions” makes it possible to play a diatonic in keys and modes other than its “official” key. This harmonica is special tuned (not standard richter tuned) to make it easier for beginner and intermediate players to play minor songs in minor blues pentatonic, natural minor and dorian mode keys. In Dm for example the 12 bar blues then consist of Dm, Gm and Am. If you know basic major patterns on the standard tuned harmonica you can easily use a natural minor tuned harmonica and reuse most of what you already know without having to … “No!” I think to myself. Playing just the unbended notes, this position gives the mixolydian scale between 2 draw and 6 blow. The quality is … How To Play The Best Easy Harmonica Songs, Concluding Thoughts. Also, I would like to buy the Lee Oskar Harmonica, natural minor keys of B. and play around with this. Two reasons. Playing the harmonica in a key a fourth below its intended key. On a G harmonica, you’ll get A Dorian and E Aeolian. MINOR KEY BLUES HARP. 10-hole harps are now available tuned to natural minor, harmonic minor and dorian minor scales. Note: The key labeled on the Natural Minor Harmonica is indicated by playing from the (draw / inhale – Cross Harp / 2 nd Position) . Depending on the country, "diatonic harmonica" may mean either the tremolo harmonica (in East Asia) or blues harp (In Europe and North America). While they’re beginner level, if you’re working your way through any of the above songs and can’t quite pull any of them off, take your time. This means you can play in the key … Likewise, the note name for 6-Draw will give you your Aeolian key. In 2nd position the key note is in hole 2 draw, and holes 3, 6 and 9 blow. The A harmonica will let you play in the key of E (this is the easiest key for guitarists to play). I'd suggest you try to get a low F, the … G Major Pentatonic – 2nd Position Ten-hole diatonic harmonicas are the ones most commonly used in neck racks. (See columns one and two of the chart below). Natural Minors can be played in 2 nd Position (Cross Harp), to achieve the Natural Minor scale and the … You could buy a minor tuned harp as a short cut (you play familiar cross harp patterns and the harp supplies the minor note adjustments for you). It does not matter much what key the harmonica you buy is in. After all, you might think, if you can play any note in the chromatic scale, you shouldn’t need different keys of harmonicas for different keys of songs, as you do for a diatonic. In other words, the 1 and 6 chords in minor keys are intrinsically connected to the tonic minor pentatonic scale. E is 1.5 tones below G, so if you want to play E minor in second position then that would be on a A harp (C - … The chord tones for the chord in Dm are: Now, just as I advised you to choose a key of C diatonic harmonica as your first choice…. Look up a note chart for your harmonica and whatever the note name is for your 4-draw, that’s your Dorian key. How to Play Pentatonic Scales on Harmonica. The common 10 hole harmonica is a “diatonic” instrument, meaning that it is designed to play in one key (C for a C harmonica). One of the reasons I loved Lee Oskar harmonicas when I first started playing is that, in addition to being easy to isolate notes and easy to bend, the 1st position key is labeled on one side of the harmonica, and the 2nd position key is labeled on the opposite side. You can use the G harp in 4th position to play in E minor. However … Then walk it down by drawing on the 2 and then drawing on the 1. The key of A minor is 4th position on a C harp. How To: Play the "blue third" on the harmonica ; How To: Play a basic harmonica blues scale ; How To: Play a blues based intro to 11th position on harmonica ; How To: Play 11th and 3rd position licks on the harmonica ; How To: Play the harp riff from the Green Onions video ; How To: Play blues and diatonic harmonica With this harmonica, we are experiencing a whole new sense of key (while using only beginner technique). In the simplest terms, we can take a C major harmonica and use it to play in different keys just by using a different hole as our root note, or starting point, each time. The majority of diatonic harp players are focused on the blues, and, as it’s easier to play this style of harmonica in the second position (cross harp), an A major harmonica translates to the key of E major. Here’s how you would play a diatonic harmonica in a major key for the pentatonic scale, playing one note at a time: And here is how a diatonic harmonica in a minor key would be played for the pentatonic scale: How to Play … So the next time someone tells you to play in a minor key, figure out the the relative major and you’ll find it a lot easier! Songs in The Key of A Minor. Katyusha (In a minor key) Harmonica Tablature ⋆ Harmonica Tab For Katyusha (In a minor key): 4 -4 5 -4 4 5 5 -4 4 -4 3 But I wouldn't play up there for fear of calling dogs from all over the neighborhood. About the Natural Minor Harmonica. You will need a harmonica in the key of D, and we will be playing in 2nd position in the key of A minor. They all blow the same. These will also work great with your C harmonica. In 1st position the key note is in holes 1, 4, 7 and 10, all blow notes. You could stay with cross harp but ensure you flatten draw three each time you pass it. Strictly speaking, diatonic denotes any harmonica designed to play in a single key—though the standard Richter-tuned harmonica diatonic can play other keys by forcing its reeds to play tones that are not part of its basic scale. there are (in theory) 12 different positions on a single harmonica. Hurricane is also 4th position, A minor on a C harp. That’s the way he recorded Sara. Bb harmonica. In the video below, you will find an example of a song in third … Enough about the differences we can dialogue about; let’s look at some of the things that may change as you play. For minor key chord stuff people tend to play chromatic harmonicas in D minor or Eb minor (and in that sense they become partially diatonic instruments). Actually there is a technique called bending, which “recovers” these missing notes. They offer a limited number of notes in a specific key, although they can be used in related keys as well. The answer relates to range – a chromatic harmonica tuned to A, for example, will … This is a higher harmonica and it will feel like it responds much quicker. For example, if you compare a C harmonica with a piano, the C harmonica can play the white key notes only. This alone tells us something quite valuable - we can play an A minor arpeggio, as well as the A minor pentatonic pattern over F major without having to change position! My kids are learning to play diatonic harmonica, and we often talk about playing in the same key as the accompanist. The third position is perfect for playing minor songs, because on the central holes of the harmonica, you will find all the notes to play the minor scale of the relative tonality. D harmonica. If you play a C harmonica in third position you will be playing in D or Dm. In this video from pazzmanmusic we learn how to play the harmonica in the key of G. Draw on the 1, blow on the 2 and blow on the 3. But keep in mind that you CAN play a minor scale on a diatonic major harmonica, thanks to the techniques I mentioned earlier. These days, harp players are spoilt for choice when it comes to minor keys. Hello and welcome to this week’s lesson, where I will be showing you how to play Miss You by The Rolling Stones. Check out my online Harmonica School and take your playing to the next level Best Harmonica Key, How to Play Minor Keys, When Should I bend - Ask Tomlin Harmonica - Harmonica 411 The harmonica will let you play in the key of A (also an easy key for guitarists). Especially … Chart use: 2nd position- If you would like to play to a blues, rock, or country song in the 2nd position; using the chart below, follow these steps: For example, if I wanted to play a blues scale in C, I would use a harmonica in the key of F. Each position is a fifth up from the next. Chart use: 1st position- If you would like to play a melody or play along with a song using the 1st position, chose the diatonic harmonica that is in the same key as the key of the song. First, they allow you to play in multiple keys on one harmonica. This fabulous tuning is set up to play Minor music easily, without straining the lips, the lungs or the mind! ), and he played a d minor vamp, using a lot of d minor 6 chords. In 4th position the key note is in holes 6 and 10, both draw.. You might be wondering why chromatics are sometimes available in a range of keys. The minor 12 bar blues can be formed by replacing the every major chord with its minor counterpart. Playing with a band you would want use the lower octave scale that goes from the second … E minor is the natural minor scale of G major which is the second position of C. If you want to play in minor in second position, the table shows that it would be in G minor on a C harp. Practice A minor pentatonic over the 1 and 6 chords. Other Keys On a C harmonica, you can also play a pentatonic major scale in G and also in F. Just as above, there are bends in the low octave, and even one in the high octave, but in each key there’s at least one octave that can be played without bends. But mastering it will take time and effort just like any other instrument. Minor key chord tones. At first glance, the harmonica appears to be an easy and simplistic instrument. Backing Track - Am / Fmaj. On an A harmonica, you’ll get B Dorian and F# Aeolian. In this case, your root note is on holes 1, 4, and 8 draw. Would you have a thought or two on the natural minor keys? Minor songs tend to have sadder vibes – try paying attention to that. The blow notes on a D harmonica are: D F# A D F# A D F# A D, and the draw notes are: E A C# E G B C# E G B D is good for the key of E minor, since draw holes 4-5-6, as well as 8-9-10, make an E minor chord. Choosing a Harmonica. What matters is that if you are going to be playing it with a band you need to know what key the song is in before you can decide which harmonica you will use. A couple of players, Howard Levy and Carlos Del Junco, … In the case you want a minor tuned harp, I furthermore advise you to go with its relative minor, which would be a minor A tuned harp.. And the reason why is …