i am having a bit of troble understanding the 1st position thing. how do you know when you are playing the 1st or 2nd postions? can you switch between them? if anyone can explain it to me it will be much apretiated.

thanks

There are those who can cetainly tell you more than I can about how to tell when you are in a particular position, but here's the breakdown of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd position.

FOR STANDARD MAJOR KEY 10-HOLE DIATONIC HARMONICAS:

1st Position: This is the key that the harp is in. If you own a C harp, that means 1st position is the key of C. The point of resolution is blow 4.

2nd Position: Using the circle of 5ths, 2nd position is 5 keys up. On a C harp, 1st position is C. Starting with C as 1, count up 5, which gives you C, D, E, , F, G. If you notice, this is the note that is at draw 2 & blow 3. Draw 2 is considered the point of resolution for 2nd Position.

3rd Position: Again, using the C harp and the circle of 5ths, Using 2nd position as the starting point (G for a C harp) cout up 5. This gives you G, A, B, C, D. The thing to remember is that 3rd position is also a minor key; more importantly, it is the relative minor to 1st position, so on a C harp, that would make it D minor. The point of resolution for 3rd position is draw 4.

Aside from playing something with a minor sound, I'm no good at telling what position I'm in. I had always thought that my rendition of Amazing Grace was in 1st position, but I've been told that it's actually 12th position.



Post Edited (02-10-06 13:22)

uh huh uh huh (nods)... wait what?

Ok, here's the easy, simplified, all-you-really-need-to-know parts of 1st, 2nd, & 3rd position on a standard, major key, 10-hole diatonic:

1st Position: This is the key of the harp. 1st position's point of resolution (starting/ending point) is blow 4.

2nd Position: The point of resolution is draw 2. The actual note that is on draw 2 determines the key of 2nd position. On a key of C harp, this is G.

3rd Position: This is always a minor key. The point of resolution is draw 4. This is the relative minor of the 1st position. For a C harp, that would be D.



Post Edited (02-10-06 22:46)

How many Positions are there and how come this is the first time I've ever heard of it? lol.

Q (Part 1) How many Positions are there?
A (Part 1) I'm personally not 100% certain. Perhaps someone else can answer that question.

Q (Part 2) How come this is the first time I've ever heard of it?
A (Part 2) Well....honestly, I hadn't heard of it until I joined up with this site.

um. thanks? i kind of understand it. i think if i get a few more theory books or something then i might understand it.

another question.

do all insterments have different positions ie guitar or keyboard?

There are 12 positions in all. 1st thru 6th, and 12th position are the most common. 7th thru 11th require alot of bends and overblows, which makes it difficult for most people to play these 5 positions.

It's possible to play the chromatic scale on the diatonic harmonica using all 12 positions.

Frank did a pretty good job of explainin' 1st, 2nd, & 3rd position...

I'm not that great either at knowing what key I'm in beyond 2nd position. If you are playing in the key the song was written (from sheet music), than you are likely playing straight harp (1st position).

This site explains 2nd position better than I:
[www.coast2coastmusic.com]

~always Maria.

PS: No need having to "bend" your brain-reeds trying to figure it out, check out:

Harmonica Key Change Table
[www.crossharp.com]

"Webmasters, if you would like to place this table on your web site click here for instructions." <--Nick, you might have a look at this from above webiste. Could be a useful table to have on hand at this website. (smile))



Post Edited (02-13-06 21:16)

thanks heaps. i am going on the the web sites now.

i have been playing it for about 2 months and am absolutely enjoying it. i am doing really easy riffs from a begginer blues book and one of the first things thay had was 2nd position.