1st Position Blues Harp An Introduction (Part 2)

A guide to straight blues harping

In Part 1 we looked at an overview of first position. We considered why it may be
something blues players put off till later. We noted that 1st position blues mainly
comprises deep low end draw bends and confident high end blow bends, and that
the middle octave has little to offer to those who cannot overbend.
We also recommended that blues players develop the ability to identify positional
playing by ear. This isnt as hard as you might believe. Its like birdsong. You could
probably recognise the call of an owl, a seagull or a finch right? Well the
three principal blues harp positions also have their own signatures.
In this, the second part of our series, we look at the bottom end blues scale in 1st
position and its trade licks. Meantime heres more of our series theme tune from
Nine Below Zero. The song is called Doghouse and its from their second album,
Dont Point Your Finger.
1st position low end blues scale
Fluency in the blues scale provides a firm foundation for your repertoire of blues
licks. So lets get back to basics for a moment.
Grab a D harp and play the 2nd position blues scale 2D 3D 4B 4D 4D 5D 6B. It
gives the key of A major. Now switch to an A harp and locate these same notes
between holes 1B and 4B.
If you can draw bend, youll find most of its there. But youll also notice something is
missing. That partially bent blues note in 3D on the D harp (the flattened third) is
absent on the A harp. You wont find it without a radical overblow in 1B+. You can
play 2B on the D harp, but not 2B.
Lets look at it the other way. The 2B on the A harp is equivalent to a clean 3D on the
D harp, albeit an octave lower. You will get away with it, but it can sound polite in
isolation. We like to think of 2B in 1st position as the blues wannabe note. It almost
got there, but didnt quite make it. But it turns out this is a good thing. The clean 2B
has become the hallmark of all those low end signature riffs in 1st position blues. Its
this that generates a lot of the melancholic mood. Just try this lick
4B 3D 2D 2D..2B 2D..2B..1B
Just in case you were wondering
While 2D and 3B both provide the same note on a diatonic harp and 2D is part of our
1st position blues scale, when it comes to playing 1st position licks, 3B is seldom
used. For practical purposes we focus on 2D because 3B just makes things awkward.
Trust us on this point for now. It will all become apparent when we look at some low
end licks.
Mapping it all out
Here is the 1st position blues scale tab. The sound clip is played on an A major harp.
1B 2B 2D 2D 2D 3D 4B
4B 3D 2D 2D 2D 2B 1B

Now lets look at a graphic of whats going on. Click the image below to enlarge it or
print yourself a copy here. All the safe notes have been highlighted in red. That
blues wannabe note in 2B has also been highlighted in mauve, together with the
overblow in 1D+.
The 5B an octave up from 2B has also been highlighted (the blues wannabes kid
brother), along with the overblow notes in 4B+, 5B+ and 6B+ that complete
the blues scale in the mid octave range.

8B has not been coloured in the upper octave because we have a complete blues scale
here. Our flattened third is readily available as a blow bend in 8B. More of this in
part three.
Low end signature riffs
Now weve nailed the scale, lets look at some low end signature licks together. Well
start with Kim Wilsons version of Trust My Baby (by Sonny Boy II). Its on his Tiger
Man album. Grab a G major harp and lets get cooking.
3D 4B 2D 2D
2D..2B 1B
2D..2D 2D
See what we mean by hitting 2D rather than 3B? It would become messy and youd
lose the soulfulness generated by raising 2D through 2D and into 2D. Once youve
cracked the phrasing for this lick, experiment with tongue blocking, tonal
variety, hand wah-wah and throat vibrato to complete the delivery. This is low
down, deep and mournful stuff.
I cry nobody loves me and nobody seems to care!
Now weve mapped out the principal 1st position blues notes and a classic lick in the
lower octave. Youll find countless variations on this lick in other blues songs. Next
lets check out the opening to BB Kings Every Day I Have The Blues, recorded on
this occasion by Paul Lamb & The Kingsnakes on their 1995 album Fine Condition.
This example shows us how notes from the same blues scale in the lower 1st position
register can deliver a lead riff and accompaniment. Youll need an A major harp.
Riff 1
2D..2B 1B-4B 1B-4B

Octaves!

2D..2B 1D-4D 1D-4D

Reverse the 1-4 hole direction over the V chord

Riff 2
2D..2D 3D

2D..2D 3D
2D..2D 4B ..9B-9B
Riff 3
2D..2B 4B 4B

Lends weight to the vocal line

2D..2B 4D 4D

Reverse the 4 hole direction once over the V chord

Interestingly, when it comes to the harmonica solo in this particular number, Paul
Lamb switches to second position on a D major harp. He might have taken the more
obvious route of staying with the A harp and hitting the upper octave, however
switching harps mid song is a legitimate option and can be very effective. Its not
necessarily cheating! Go see Charlie Musselwhite and youll find he does this
regularly. Little Walter often did it as well.
Im a home run hitter baby, and I can hit em all night long!
One of the finest examples of 1st position playing listened to at the Harp Surgery is
the title track of Jerry Portnoys Home Run Hitter album. He uses anA major
diatonic. Heres the intro.
..4D..4D 4D..4D..4D 4D..3D..2D 2D..2B
2D 2D..2D 2D 2D..2B..1B

rpt x 4

rpt x 2

4B 3D 2D
2D..2B
4B 4B..3D 2D

Once again it works around that familiar 1st position blues pattern in the lower
octave, but Jerry uses some highly imaginative phrasing. Now listen to the
clip again and note what happens over the V chord. Its brief. Jerry breaks into a 4D5D trill. Heres a clip of the part were referring to, followed by the remainder of the
intro and a fade out.
3D ..4B
4D..4D~5D

trill

2D..3D 4B..4B 3D..2D

2D..2B..1B
..4D..4D 4D..4D..4D 4D..3D..2D 2D..2B
..4D..4D 4D..4D..4D 4D..3D..2D
One and one makes two
You may not have noticed, but cross harp notes are being used over the V chord. Lets
spend a moment figuring this out; its an important concept not only in 1st position,
but in others too.

Taking an A major harp in 1st position, we know that we start playing over the A
major chord. Its straight harp after all. This is the I chord or tonic. We then move to
the IV chord or sub-dominant which is D major. But typically were digging into the
same deep bending territory as the I chord. More of this shortly. However, when we
move to the V chord or dominant, were playing over E major.
What do we know about E major on an A harp? Thats right. Its cross harp or 2nd
position. So for a brief period in straight blues harping, we can drop in 2nd position
licks over the V chord because the two positions coincide. (The same is true on the
turn-around if it moves back up to the V chord).
Often this takes the form of 3D 4B 4D..4D~5D trill. But could also try a simple run
down 5D 4D..3D..2D and almost any other 2nd position blues lick. How about 2D
3D 4B 4D..4D 6B 4D..4D 4B 3D 2D just to be fancy? Big Walter might choose
2D 3D..3D..4D.
So how do we deal with the IV chord in 1st position?
Lets take an A harp. For the IV chord were looking for notes that fit over D major.
Sonny Boy II often did no more than rapidly repeated switch between 3D with deep
vibrato and 4B. In Hard Hearted Woman, Big Walter finds the D in the full 2D. He
plays 2D..2D..2D 2B..1B 4B. But why not experiment? A simple sustained 5D-6D
sounds kind of different, but it works.

I cant do my homework any more

Check out Dave Barretts book on Exploring 1st Position. It has a heap of practice riffs
to work through that will develop your bending muscles! Dave also has books which
cover 2nd and 3rd position. We also recommend Winslow Yerxas book Harmonica
For Dummies as a neat way of exploring this feature of the diatonic harp. Check out
our Music Store page for both these books.
In part three, we will investigate the top end 1st position blues scale and its
associated licks. So until then, start working on those blow bends and heres Mark
Feltham with Nine Below Zero to play us out.