Minor Key Chord Tones in Third Position

Playing in minor keys may not be the first thing you try on the harmonica. Even some fairly advanced players stay away from it. If you are strictly a second position player minor keys may be problematic for you. A pretty easy way of fixing this is to learn to play in third position. Don’t get me wrong here, playing in third position doesn’t mean that you automatically play in minor or that you can only play minor. Third position just makes minor keys easier. If you have not played over a minor 12 bar blues before then learning to find the minor key chord tones is a good way to get started. If you know where the chord tones are you can play both accompaniment and even solo.

The benefit of third position

The benefit of third position for minor keys is that the minor third can be played without advanced bending skills. This is especially true if you play hole 4 and upwards. The lower octave require more practice though. also the minor key chord tones are quite easy to find.

minor key chord tones needed for minor blues

12 bar blues in D minor

The minor 12 bar blues can be formed by replacing the every major chord with its minor counterpart. In Dm for example the 12 bar blues then consist of Dm, Gm and Am.

Minor key chord tones

If you play a C harmonica in third position you will be playing in D or Dm. The chord tones for the chord in Dm are:

  • Dm – D F A C (root, minor third, fifth, minor seventh)
  • Gm – G Bb D F
  • Am – A C E G

The chord tones for Dm in tab:

  • D     1, 4, 8
  • F     2”, 5, 9
  • A     3”, 6, 10
  • C     1+, 4+, 7+, 10+

The chord tones for Gm:

  • G     2, 3+, 6+, 9+
  • Bb   3′, 10+”
  • D     1, 4, 8
  • F     2”, 5, 9

The chord tones for Am:

  • A     3”, 6, 10
  • C     1+, 4+, 7+, 10+
  • E     2+, 5+, 8+
  • G     2, 3+, 6+, 9+

The Bb (minor third of Gm) is the one chord tone that is the trickiest. Playing the 3 unbent can sound horrible so make sure you play it in pitch. The 10+” is quite tricky as well. The whole step bend on hole 3 takes some practice too but there are easy options for playing the A elsewhere on the harmonica.

Get comfortable with it!

The best way to get comfortable with minor blues is to put on a jam track and practice playing the chord tones over it. With a little bit of practice you will be able to move around quite freely.

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Blues Harmonica Turnaround Riffs

The turnaround in the 12 bar blues is the part that signals that the form will repeat again. This, of course, happens at the end of the form. More sprecifically, bar 11 and 12 is where we play blues harmonica turnaround riffs. Properly executed these riffs give a sense of completion at the same time as the signal strongly that it is time to start the 12 bar blues again. If you listen carefully to recordings you will quite easily spot the turnaround in most songs, just remember that not all 12 bar blues variations include the turnaround. In this article I will give you a few riffs to add to your riff bank.

Properties of blues harmonica turnaround riffs

Although there are no hard and fast rules for these riffs there are a few properties they most often have. It is natural for the turnaround riff to be 2 bars but in order to fit with the V-IV-I riff of your choice it may need to be shorter.

In order to outline the turnaround in itself they often follow the chord tones very closely in bars 11 and 12. That is the I-chord through bar 11 and half of bar 12 and then the V-chord in for the last two beats of bar 12.

Basic turnaround riff

First off we have a very basic turnaround riff that uses the tonic of the chord. The tonic of the V-chord comes on beat 2 of bar 12 anticipating the V-chord on beat later. This riff always work but can be a bit boring if used too often.

tonic based blues harmonica turnaround riffs

Very basic blues harmonica turnaround riff.

Vamping style riff

This riff is a bit busier and uses the tounge slapping/vamping style so tounge blocking is the key here. In bar 11 it also uses 2 blow which is a chord tone for the I chord in 2nd position. Be careful though if you should be playing 2nd position in a minor blues, this riff would not work well. It has nice energy and is simple as there is no bending.

vamping blues harmonica turnaround riffs

Vamping style blues harmonica riff without bending.

Triplet based turnaround riff

This riff is quite energetic as it is based on triplets. It aslo has a whole step bend on hole two which is the minor seventh of the I-chord, a very nice touch. A bit trickier as it has bending.

triplet based blues harmonica turnaround riffs

Triplet based tournaround riff.

Slightly more advanced turnaround riff

We finish off with a riff that is slightly more advanced, it incorporates the half step bend in hole three as well which is the minor third of the I-chord. A nice bluesy note.

bending blues harmonica turnaround riffs

Turnaround riff with a little bit more bending.

Applying blues harmonica turnaround riffs

Now that you have a few more blues harmonica turnaround riffs to practice it is time to put them to use. Start by selecting one or two and start experimenting with connecting them to your V-IV-I riffs. Be sure to get enough repetitions in to really make them stick.

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Taking Advantage of the V-chord

When it comes to improvising on the harmonica there is one place in the 12 bar blues where you really can stand out from the crowd. The place I am talking about is the V-chord, how you handle the V-chord signals to other musicians how knowledgeable you are. In this article I will give you the information you need to use theory to really shine over the V-chord.

V-chord

The V-chord sometimes causes harmonica players a bit of problems.

The problem with the V-chord

Let us first understand why the V-chord might be a bit problematic. For G-major (C harp in 2nd position) this is D. The chord tones are:

  • D, root
  • F#, third
  • A, fifth
  • C, minor seventh

If we look at the blues scale for G-major we have the following notes: G, Bb, C, Db, D and F. As you can see, C and D fit well with the chord tones but the other may need a bit of more care. G is the fourth of the scale realting to D which is a workable note but primarily a passing tone. Bb is a minor sixth, also primarily a passing tone and not even a scale tone. F is a minor third, a blue note for the chord and definately useful to create tension. Lastly Db is the major seventh and not really a note you want to use too much in blues.

The BS way

Playing many fast notes over a chord a player is not 100% comfortable with is not uncommen among some players. Although this will not sound bad it will not let you shine as a player. Maybe you will impress some people with speed but the pros will instantly recognise what you are doing. I do not recommend this approach and it is simple to avoid.

The easy ways

There are a couple of easy ways to handle the V-chord and still be musical. The first and easiest way is to hang on the root not all through the chord and perhaps touch on the minor seventh before going to the IV-chord. The same thing can be done with the fifth (6 draw would be easiest then). The only problem with this approach is that you will repeat yourself a lot, probably too much.

The second easy way is to learn a few V-IV-I-turnaround riffs to use. This is where a lot of players go and there are a huge number of them out there. It is basically up to you how many you choose to learn to avoid too much repetition. I think this is an excellent way and encourage you to seek out riffs to use. You will be standing on the shoulders of giants.

The knowledge approach

Even though I think learning riffs from other players is a great way I also think that using your theory knowledge can set you apart. By combining rhytmic patterns with chord tones you can come up with great riffs yourself. This will add options when you play and toyr riff bank will grow together with the set licks you have already learned. You will also be able to modify riffs you already know by stubstituting a few notes for the chord tones.

Besides being able to stay withing the chord tones for the V-chord there is another benefit. If you use mainly use the blues scale over the I- and IV-chord you will not use F# at all and probably A to a lesser extent. This means that to the human ear those notes will sound fresh when you use them. It doesn’t matter that you have played the third and the fifth of the other chords, the pitch of the note will be new and fresh to the ear. This is not only true for expert musicians who may actually be able to tell exactly what notes you are playing but also the average listener will notice. He or she will not be able describe what happens but it will sound fresh.

What next?

Now I would like to encourage you to internalize the chord tones for the V-chord and start using your knowledge when you play. Learn a few new licks and experiment with them. I also cover this and blue notes for the different chords in my “Learn to play awesome 12 bar blues harmonica solos” on Skillshare and Udemy.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to send me an e-mail.

Black Friday Sale

The Black Friday Sale is a big thing, so also on Udemy where I published my course a couple of months back.I really enjoy teaching and this course is a way for me to reach people I normally cannot teach face to face. Online courses are also a great way for people to study at thier own pace.

The topic I chose for my first course is blues harmonica soloing, probably the main thing that gets people excited about learning to play harmonica but also difficult to develop systematically. In my course I focus on giving the right amount of information to allow people to set their creativity free on the harmonica.

You find the course “Learn to play awesome blues harmonica solos” here. I look forward to being your teacher. Take advantage of the Black Friday Sale to save on the tuition.

Blues Harmonica Solo Course Live on Udemy

Everything moved quicker than I expected my course is already live on Udemy. I am very excited about this.

The course is for beginnig and intermediate harmonica players who want to improve their soloing skills. The course covers everything for simple 12 bar blues solo strategies up to startegies that include supporting the chord progression, dynamics, solo structure and creating excitement. This is what you need to take your solos to the next level and really integrate what you play with the music.

If you want to become better at playing blues harmonica solos, this is the course for you.

You will find the “Learn to play and improve 12 bar blues harmonica solos” course here.

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