ever wonder why that accending lick in canned heats 'on the road again' sounds so cool? it's because wilson sharped the #6 hole draw on his A harp one half step up. that's all there is to it.
i heard that al wilson put a tiny piece of scotch tape on the the seventh hole draw reed on a C harp to weight the C note down to a Bb. Im not sure about the key of the harp for "on the road" but what ever it is that gave him the minor third in cross position.
I just used the c harp as an illustration cause i didnt know what note that would be on an A harp off the top of my head but after figuring it out -flattening the seventh reed draw two half steps with scotch tape on an A harp would bring the note down from A to G which would be the minor third in the key of E which is the key of the song
didn't check out missin site missin site missin site. larry spaulding, brother of dale spaulding, whom is with canned heat at present, told me that. larry had me change the #6 draw (F#) to G on his A harp. he said the canned heat guys told dale that wilson did that to all his harps. i don't know about all his harps but i did it to one of mine and it sounds cool and correct. the harp is not good for much else though.
thanks hvyj. i like the first 3 because they are so related and therefore the tonics appear in logical places-to me anyway-. i am assuming blogward, nacoran,and you have mastered or are framiliar with playing in all 12 positions and that is quite a bit of work and something to be admired. that takes a hell of a lot of patience.
I had an A Marine band kicking around so I retuned it - and I like it very much. It'll do till I get my B-Rads - or my Buddha. First the retuned A, then 12th pos. on a B, then normal A, then back to retuned A. Rough 'n' ready.
Last Edited by on Mar 09, 2010 3:19 PM
I play 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th and 12th, although I'm not that good at 12th. Playing in these different positions is not nearly as difficult as you might think. There are common breath patterns for certain scales in certain positions. It doesn't take any exotic or advanced expertise if you just learn these common pentatonic scale patterns.
If anyone is interested, i posted detailed explanations of the common breath patterns for pentatonic scales under the topic "Minor Key Blues" not that long ago. It's a quick and easy way to learn how to play in multiple positions, but for some reason is not discussed in any instructional materials I've seen.
the re-tuned A is the way to play that particular number and you just proved it. is B for bathrobe? my B harps get neglected so i should take 'em on a 12th pos. spin just for grins.
Anything other than 6th-10th isn't all that difficult. Through the course of a night I use 1st-5th, 11th, and 12th. I even recorded in 4th and 11th. I've put a Little Wing Youtube link in a couple of posts recently...that is in 12th. Here is 11th...short and sweet, lol! This clip is old and not the best example, but it is 11th!
