Hello and welcome to this week’s harmonica lesson where I am going to try to clarify this whole ‘position’ malarkey!
You will need a C harmonica to play along (maybe also an F and G if you’re feeling feisty!!).
Playing without changing position
If I play a 12 bar blues bass line without changing position I have to use three different harmonicas…
I am using;
– C harmonica over I chord
– F harmonica over IV chord
– G harmonica over V chord
Because I am not changing position I have ended up playing 2nd position on three different harmonicas. This means I am playing exactly the same holes on each harp.
Playing with changing positions
If I play the same 12 bar blues line with different positions over each chord then I can play it all on the same harmonica…
I am using;
– C harmonica (2nd position) over I chord
– C harmonica (1st position) over IV chord
– C harmonica (3rd position) over V chord
Much easier!
Click here if you want to learn how to play the 12 bar blues bass line I am playing…
Position theory
Hopefully you now know a little bit more about positions. If you want to go deeper into the theory side of things then click here for my position lesson.
12 Easy 12 Bar Blues eCourse
If you are struggling to make the transition from playing simple melodies to playing proper blues harmonica then you should check out my 12 Easy 12 Bar Blues eCourse which will show you how to play 12 different blues songs and all their associated techniques.
Click here to find out more about it…
Thank you!
Happy harping!
