Posted by Tuten (209.246.81.251) on August 11, 2000 at 20:13:32:
In Reply to: keys posted by RedEX on May 07, 2000 at 02:17:47:
Okay- First thing, there is no such thing as a 'blues' harp, that is, there is no specific kind of harmonica specially made to play blues. Once upon a time I thought the same thing, so don't feel bad. Secondly, the true and bent notes are playable on any diatonic(10 hole)harp, although there are certain notes which in blues are most commonly bent, and those are the 2nd, 3rd, 4th,5th and 6th draw holes (notes G,B,C,F,A respectively). One thing I haven't found covered here, -perhaps I just haven't looked though- is the diatonic harp scale, which most people starting out often do not realise even exists. That scale is as follows:
B=blow D=draw
BD BD BD BD BD BD BD BD BD BD
CD EG GB CD EF GA CB EF GA BC
Notice that 2D and 3B are the same note, G. This is important when walking down to this note in the instance you need to play it and don't need to bend it. I hope this has helped somewhat, since everything after this is a matter of practice.