Playing the Blues scale (in 2nd position)

[@pedroec4ti]

Thanks for your stuff-I love it. Been playing 6 years and cant get my head around POSITIONS, if you could do a video on that. Tanx

[@hammerblues]

Thanks Peter - I think I will do that soon!

[@ikust007]

Thank you mate !

[@tnysteph]

This is very good information. Man I have a hard time with this scale. I can get notes in it, but the hard part for me is just to play the scale.

[@hammerblues]

Start slow, then speed it up when you feel it's getting easier. It is trickier than some other scales becuse of the bends, and the fact that there are less notes can be confusing. But once you get in the habit of playing 3 bent, 4 bend and 5 draw (without 5 Blow) - suddenly deep blues tunes like "Spoonful" or "Hoochie coochie man" sound way cooler

[@MrSYL12]

Dov, Plz also put your backing tracks to songs you sing n play the Harp. Thanks

[@hammerblues]

Unfortunately, I am "technologically challenged" and am not really proficient at creating tracks. Most of the things I discuss on these tutorials can be practiced using a regular 12 bar blues backing track, of which there are many good ones you can find on youtube.....

[@ikust007]

Please a video on overblows

[@hammerblues]

I'll think about it.... there are a few good ones out there by masters like Adam Gussow and Jason Ricci....

[@brandonleroux6059]

@@hammerblues yeah but Adam jason and carlos waffle endlessly

[@hammerblues]

@@brandonleroux6059 I'm not sure what "waffle" means, but I'm guessing it means you are not a fan of their playing :) . That's a matter of taste ( I am a HUGE fan of all 3 of them) but I never debate matters of taste. In music, always follow what turns you on. Choose the players you like and try to learn from them.

[@brandonleroux6059]

@@hammerblues no you misunderstood. To waffle: to talk endlessly about crap that has no bearing on anything and by god they all do that. Your videos are at least to the point. Let people listen to what they want I don't care. Me personally I am not that interested in any living blues players but I got nothing against them. Its just as I said...they tend to waffle on in their videos and I really would prefer it if they just get to the point. Im sure their videos are great for those who really admire them.

[@hammerblues]

@@brandonleroux6059 understood. Thanks :)

[@luckyman8265]

Dla mnie w utworze "On the road again" harmonijka lepiej brzmiała w ustach Boba Hite'a ale ja się na tym nie znam

[@hammerblues]

No question, Bob Hite was a great player too :) But I have always loved Alan Wilson's playing and have been very much influenced by him

[@DanStockel]

What is first or second etc positions ??

[@hammerblues]

In the simpelist terms, "positions" on the harmonica means using a harmonica in different keys. For example if you have a C harmonica, 1st position will be when you play a song in C major (the key that the harp is tuned to), and my root not (C) is on hole 1 or 4 blow. If I use my C harp to play a song in G (this is 2nd position) I will get a G scale that is better suited for Blues and rock of the notes that are there and the way it's laid out. In this position my root note (G) is on hole 2 draw. In 3rd position I will be using my C harmonica to play in D. My root note (D) is in hole 1 or 4 draw, and the resulting scale will be slightly more minor.... This explanation probably raises more questions then it answers, but at least it tells you what we are talking about. To get more details, you can watch the videos I made about 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions. Hope this helps :)

[@clintoverstreet9482]

I believe he is playing a lee Oscar harp. Hard to keep up with fender harp

[@hammerblues]

Actually it's Seydel 1847 :)

[@brandonleroux6059]

Doesn't the harp need to be set up for overblows before hand. I really don't see any use for this technique. Trying this will win you: broken harp

[@hammerblues]

Overblowing does not break harps. If your harp is not setup well, the overblow just won't sound, but really, an overblow is sort of like blow bending (bending down the blow notes on holes 8-10). The name "overblows" is misleading - it dosen't mean you blow harder, it means that you make a blow note go up in pitch. Some harmonicas will overblow well right out of the box, some will do it with just a little bit of gapping. As far as having no use - well, there are many great players who make fantastic use of it (Adam Gussow, Jason Ricci , Carlos Del Junco and others), and plenty of great harp players who don't overblow. I don't think anyone HAS to learn it, and you can certainly play great things on harmonica without overblowing - but if you do learn to do it, it just adds another little tool to your arsenal of harmonica talents, adds more possibilites of playing more things. Either choice is legit. And regarding this lesson - you can play many great blues licks on the high notes of the harmonica without the 2 overblow/overdraw notes ,too...

[@brandonleroux6059]

​@@hammerblues Dude here in shithole Africa I pay a R1000 each for my harmonicas so I'm not about to go rough it up with some half wit tutorial (not your tutorial) over the internet about how to set up your harp for a technique that is frankly just pointless. Also I really don't care about the great modern wafflers - adam jason and carlos. Even your videos are better than theirs. At least you get to the point. Nobody is able to explain blow bends though no matter who you watch online.

[@hammerblues]

@@brandonleroux6059 I see what you mean. I don't do too much tinkering with my harps either, I just try to get ones that play well right out of the box. And I agree that bending (draw bends AND blow bends) are probably the hardest thing to teach and to learn on the harmonica. I would guess that most people end up learning mostlly through trial and error :) .

[@brandonleroux6059]

@@hammerblues lol yeah aint that a fact. I keep trying to get it though and that is why I clicked on your video this morning when I woke up. I figured I was brave enough to try it again but alas hahahaha I flew to close to the sun...again. If I get it right you will be the first to know hahaha. ALSO - thanks for replying it really means a lot. Im gonna check out some of your other videos.