1st Position Blues Harp – An Introduction (Part 1)

A guide to straight blues harping

No force, however great, can stretch a cord, however fine, into a horizontal line which is accurately straight. Elementary Treatise On Mechanics (William Whewell)

The classic blues harmonica journey starts with a crusade to the Holy Shrine of cross harp. Whereupon, straight harp (normally in the guise of Oh Susannah) is swiftly abandoned. Drunk on the glories of success and now equipped with assault amplifiers and bullet microphones, the crusade is remobilised.

New techniques are won - including tongue blocking, vibrato, blow bends and third position blues – before a pale figure appears on the horizon; the ghost of first position. Time to go back to square one.

Playing it straight

Welcome to the first of our four part series exploring the magic of first position blues harp.

A contemporary blues harp player should be proficient in second, third and first position. There are plenty of other positions worthy of exploration and overbending has come of age, but these three positions provide the foundation of classic harmonica blues.

The bues journeyman should learn to identify each of these styles by ear and use positional playing sympathetically.

Honking away in an alternative position for the sake of it might be impressive momentarily, but it may also demonstrate more about musical immaturity than harp technique. Call it blues graffiti. As artists our responsibility is to share a canvass, not deface it. This means respect for fellow musicians, the audience, the song and the mood.

Why do we leave first position harping till later?

Probably because the first sound to catch our ear is cross harp. The bulk of harp music is played in cross harp and naturally we want to imitate what we hear. So second position is a very convenient portal for entering the blues arena.

Secondly, playing in first position demands strong use of deep draw bends at the low end of the harp. This takes muscle and not everybody can cut it. Proficient use of high end blow bends is also essential. But it is hard to master. We may feel it is unachievable and shy away.

Finally, the options for expression in the middle register are extremely limited - unless you can overbend. So for most of us the middle octave remains barren. With blues licks each side and nothing in between, you will understand why we call it the Grand Canyon of harping. Newcomers are ill-equipped to traverse the gap.

As an afterthought, since cross harp licks fit perfectly over the V chord in first position playing, there’s a chance this might fool novices into thinking they are hearing a cross harp number. Alternatively they may just be unaware of alternative positions.

First position basics. All you need to know on a postage stamp

Here are the essentials of first position blues harp:

• It has certain signature licks which make it instantly identifiable
• It usually has a melancholy feel
• It is found in deep low end draw bends
• It is found in high end blow bends
• It often switches between low and high end licks
• It offers very little in the middle register – unless you can overblow
• Cross harp licks work perfectly over the V chord in first position

What’s the Mode?

In musical theory, we call first positon the Ionian mode. The Ionian scale is the one we are brought up on in the west. Anyone who has seen The Sound Of Music will know the song Doe - A Deer.  This is what we are talking about. Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do. In theoretical terms, the important information lies in the interval, or distance, between each note. An interval can be counted in whole or half steps. We call these tones and semi-tones.

For the simplest example of the Ionian mode on a piano we would start on a C key and move up one white note at a time until we complete an Octave and arrive at the next C. The sequence of intervals we have covered runs like this: Tone-Tone-Semi-tone-Tone-Tone-Tone-Semi-tone.  In short hand this would be T-T-s-T-T-T-s.

A step of one tone (T) comprises two semi-tones. We can see this clearly on the piano keyboard. The journey from From C to D starts on C, passes over C# (also called Db) and finishes on D. A step of one semi-tone does what it says. So between E and D, or B and C, there is no black key. You can only move a half step.

The blues scale

The blues scale is the foundation of blues harping no matter which position you decide to play in. All principle blues positions use notes from the blues scale so it’s important to develop some fluency in this pattern. It helps to locate the sweet notes you need, avoid the sour ones, and express yourself confidently in the blues idiom.

For 1st position blues, we have to find the blues scale using 1B 4B 7B or 10B as our root notes. For now try playing the cross harp blues scale on an F harp (2D 3D’ 4B 4D’ 4D 5D 6B), then match these notes on a C harp between holes 1B and 4B. It should be easy enough, although you will notice that you cannot flatten the second note of the scale on the C harp (without an overblow in hole 1). Try the same with second position on a D harp, then first position on an A.

For our third installent you’ll need blow bends. If you have yet to find these, roll your sleeves up and visit our Harp Skills page. In the meantime let’s hear that clip by Nine Below Zero again. The song is called Doghouse and you’ll find it on their Don’t Point Your Finger album. It’s played in first position using a B harp.

In parts 2, 3 and 4 we explore

• Low end blues scale
• Low end signature riffs
• High end blues scale
• High end signature riffs
• Bridging the middle octave
• Some handy little extras

Musical examples will be drawn from Paul Lamb & The Kingsnakes, Sonny Boy Williamson II (by way of Kim Wilson), Jimmy Reed, Charlie Musselwhite, Winslow Yerxa and Jerry Portnoy.

Associated posts:

First Position Blues Harp – An Introduction (Part 2)

First Position Blues Harp – An INtroduction (Part 3)