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Chromatic for Diatonic Players<br />
Blues Chromatic, Part 6.2: Blues in D with the<br />
Big Chord Approach<br />
By Winslow Yerxa, <strong>Mel</strong> Bay’s <strong>Harmonica</strong><strong>Sessions</strong>® eZine<br />
June 2009<br />
Harmonies and Octaves with Split Intervals<br />
Part of the characteristic sound of blues chromatic is the sound of two-note harmony created by<br />
note several holes apart. You create these harmonies by blocking out the intervening holes with<br />
your tongue and sounding the notes in the right and left corners of your mouth, as shown in<br />
Figure D:<br />
Click here (visit www.<strong>Harmonica</strong><strong>Sessions</strong>.com for these media files) to listen to some lines that<br />
show off the characteristic sounds of these splits: 22-0D.mp3<br />
Split intervals deserve a full-length article, which is why I wrote one back in the April 2006 issue<br />
of <strong>Harmonica</strong><strong>Sessions</strong>.com. You can read it here:<br />
http://www.harmonicasessions.com/apr06/Chromatic.html<br />
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In that article, I explain how to get comfortable with splits where your mouth covers three, four,<br />
and even five holes. I recommend that your work out with that article to develop basic fluency<br />
with splits.<br />
When you play an entire line with a one-hole, two-hole, or three-hole split, you play with a locked<br />
split. A two-hole split gives the riches sounding harmony, but one of the combinations sounds<br />
discordant. When you have the note A on the right side of the split and B on the left side.<br />
You can often harmonize a whole line in a locked split – where you choose a one-hole, two-hole,<br />
or three-hole split, lock it in place, and then use that split to harmonize the whole line. This works<br />
fine for all notes in one-hole splits and three-hole splits.<br />
Two-hole splits produce the richest sounding harmonies, but there’s a potential problem. One of<br />
the two-hole splits gives you a very discordant combination, with A on the right side and B on the<br />
left. If you’re moving quickly <strong>this</strong> may not matter. But sometimes it really sounds bad.<br />
So how do you deal with the one bad-sounding two-hole split? You could play a slap or a plain<br />
single note instead, but <strong>this</strong> breaks up the consistent harmony. To keep a consistent two-note<br />
harmony, you can just use a one-hole split whenever you play an A in the melody. To do <strong>this</strong>,<br />
you have to learn to adjust the size of your embouchure while playing.<br />
The licks in Example 22-3 give you lines that can be played with a two-hole split without any<br />
discord. Click here to listen: 22-03a.mp3<br />
You can also try Example 22 with a one-hole split. Click here to listen: 22-03b.mp3<br />
The licks in Example 22-4 include the note A; you can play them with a locked one-hole split.<br />
Click here to listen: 22-04.mp3<br />
The licks in Example 22-05 use mostly two-hole splits. However, when A is the top note, I switch<br />
to a one-hole split. The tab shows the blocked holes and the left-side holes to better illustrate<br />
where the shifts occur. If you want to gain fluency in playing split harmony lines, practice these<br />
licks. Click here to listen: 22-05.mp3<br />
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Octaves<br />
A three-hole split will give you an octave. When you play octaves, you play two of the same note<br />
in different ranges. The sound is both powerful and clean, with a bit of sizzle brought by the<br />
reinforcement one note brings to the other. Unlike the diatonic, the chromatic offers all notes as<br />
true octaves.<br />
However, octaves on the chromatic require a wide mouth opening – you need to have five holes<br />
in your mouth, and block out three with your tongue. You may not develop the ability to play<br />
clean octaves overnight, but it’s worth working on. Again, I cover the technique for playing<br />
octaves along with other split intervals in the April 2006 issue.<br />
Click here to hear Example 22-3 played with a three-hole split: 22-03d.mp3<br />
Once you develop confidence with the octave embouchure, you can play nearly any line in<br />
octaves.<br />
Shimmering a Note<br />
A shimmer is a subtle effect that lets you quickly alternate two single notes that are several holes<br />
apart. You block all but the hole to the right, and then shift your tongue to the left so that you’re<br />
blocking all but the hole to the left, as shown in Figure E.<br />
You just wiggle back and forth to rapidly alternate the notes. You may move the tip of your<br />
tongue across the mouthpiece like you do with a rake, or you may leave the tip of your tongue<br />
planted in place and use a subtle jaw flick to influence it to one side or the other.<br />
Click here to hear shimmers, first with the action slowed down, then at normal speed: 22-0E.mp3<br />
Shimmers, like hammers and rakes, are most effective on long notes. Try using shimmers on<br />
some of the long notes in the previous examples.<br />
Using the Big Chord over a One-chord Groove<br />
Click here for a backing track that stays on a D chord. You can practice licks,<br />
lines, and tonguing techniques without worrying about chord changes or a tune form. When<br />
you’re ready, you can move on to playing over chord changes.<br />
Using the Big Chord in 12-bar Blues<br />
The big D minor 6 draw chord is just one chord, and the blues has three chords. How do you use<br />
the big-chord approach to play 12-bar blues?<br />
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Once again, the harmonica proves itself mysteriously well adapted to playing blues in an intuitive<br />
way. All you need to do is use the draw chord to cover two of the three chords, and the blow<br />
chord for the remaining chord – you don’t even have to use the slide. How easy is that!<br />
In the key of D, the three main chords are D (the I chord), G (the IV chord), and A (the V chord).<br />
The draw chord works over the D and G chords, while the blow chord works over the A chord.<br />
Example 22-6 shows the chord progression for a simple 12-bar blues in D. Each diagonal slash<br />
represents one beat. You can see where to focus mostly on the draw chord, and where to focus<br />
on the blow chord. Click here to listen: 22-06.mp3<br />
The D minor draw chord works over the I chord (D7). (Actually, it clashes slightly, but in a good<br />
way – a bluesy way.) But one cool thing about the big D minor 6 chord is that it also functions as<br />
a G7 chord. D7 is the I chord and G7 is the IV chord, and either way <strong>this</strong> chord sounds bluesy,<br />
so right there you’ve got two of the three main chords covered.<br />
So what about the V chord, A7? Well, the blow chord, even though it’s a C chord, functions like<br />
an A7 chord. Compare the notes:<br />
A7: A C# E G<br />
C: - C E G<br />
The two chords have E and G in common. The C note in the C chord may seem like a clash with<br />
the C# in the A7 chord, but C functions as a blue note in <strong>this</strong> context – again, the note layout of<br />
the chromatic has a bluesy sound built right in. Essentially you can get through the A7 chord by<br />
giving more time to the blow notes – along with all the slaps, pull-offs, hammers, rakes, split<br />
intervals, and shimmers.<br />
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Lines that work over the I and IV chords<br />
The I chord (D7) and the IV chord (G7) occur during the first 8 bars of a 12-bar blues, as shown<br />
in Example 22-7.<br />
Try some of the licks in the article and find ways to place them over <strong>this</strong> section of the tune.<br />
While the draw chord works well, find ways to emphasize the note G (Blow 3, Blow 7, and Blow<br />
11) during the G chord.<br />
Click here to play along with a backing track that repeats the first 8 measures of a 12-bar blues<br />
22-07.mp3.<br />
Lines that work over the V chord<br />
Example 22-8 shows a simple form of the chord progression during the last 4 bars of a 12-bar<br />
blues, including the V chord (A7), together with the IV chord (G7) and the I chord (D7). Click<br />
here to listen or to play along <br />
Example 22-9 shows typical lines that emphasize the blow notes during the A chord in the third<br />
part of the 12-bar progression. I have not written in the split intervals or tonguing effects. If you<br />
internalize the previous exercises by listening and playing, you’ll be develop the ability to pick<br />
them out when you hear them.<br />
Note: 22-9a and 22-9b start before the V chord begins. A short sequence of notes that leads into<br />
a section of music is called a pick-up. Click here to listen to the licks: 22-09.mp3<br />
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Try adapting licks from elsewhere in the article, and change the rhythms (or add notes) to<br />
emphasize the blow notes.<br />
Next Time<br />
Using the chromatic slide with the big chord<br />
Recommended Book – Basic Blues Chromatic<br />
http://harmonicamasterclass.com/bc.htm<br />
Notation Key<br />
Please visit http://www.harmonicasessions.com/feb05/ChromaticTab.pdf for a notation key.<br />
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