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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Music / Harp Theory
Music / Harp Theory
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Preston
6 posts
Mar 31, 2008
3:17 PM
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I've got a couple of questions I'm sure a few of you out there can answer for me.
#1. Has anybody got any "Circle of Fifths for Dummies" explanation?
#2. Using a C harp as a reference, why is the 5 draw called the "flatted seventh" in the blues scale. If I'm not mistaken, it is a F note. If I have to bend the 3 draw from B to Bb to get my blue third, what makes a whole F a flatted seventh without actually being a flat note?
Thanks,
P
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Patrick Barker
32 posts
Mar 31, 2008
4:11 PM
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1. The circle of fifths is an order of major scales. Assuming you know what the major scale is, you normally start with the C scale. If you count five scale notes up from the C, you will get G. This is your next scale, and so on (the next scale would then be D, then A and so on). The special thing about the circle of fifths is that the first scale starts out with no sharps of flats, the second has one sharp, the third has 2 sharps, and so on.
2. In a normal G major scale the 7th would be an F#. The 5 hole draw is a flatted seventh because it is an F and not an F# making it the flat seventh (F) opposed to the major seventh (F#). Since the straight harp is based on the C major scale where the F is natural, when played cross harp it is automatically the flat seventh.
I hope this make sense to you. Good luck!
Last Edited by on Mar 31, 2008 4:15 PM
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Carl_Comfort
11 posts
Mar 31, 2008
4:19 PM
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I'm quite a noob myself on theory so mybe not the most suitable person to answer your question, but I'll give it a shot..
...what you have to realize first is that in music all those scale numbers are based relative to the major scale, that major scale is your reference. So for example if you have the major scale of C:
C-D-E-F-A-B-C the distances between all those notes is not the same everywhere, there's NO half note/step between E-F and between B-C. So C is the 8th, the octave...and B is the 7th.
So if you play a note as your octave and you play a note that is a whole step below you'll be playing a flattend 7th, relative to that octave/root note. In the case of C that will be B flat.
Because if you would play a half step below the octave, you play the seventh and not the flat-octave. That doesnt exist.
like wise the flat-fourth doesnt exist, its just the third then..because theres no half note between E and F..in this example of C
If you want to construct the bluesscale in the key of C, you take that major scale from above. And you just reason like this.
First note the root is C
the next note in bluesscale is the flattend III, so that would be E-flat, because E is the III. The II, D is not in the bluesscale. F is the IV And etc
this is about as far my 'knowledge' reaches...now, what makes it all so incredible complicated is the fact on the harp all those steps differ between the holes as well.
Good luck, this is very usefull thing if you know a little about this stuff: http://www.overblow.com/?menuid=26
Last Edited by on Mar 31, 2008 4:34 PM
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