Dennis Gruenling came up with the ideas of scale degree charts many years ago and his idea has gone out into the world and many other people have created variations of the idea and below you will see a system I have created to combine note layouts that you can cross reference with a key of C harmonica note layout chart. It is designed to be printable without the need for color – you can always print the charts and add your own notes and color coding if you like.
I am testing out new harmonica note layout and scale degree charts for harmonica lessons. Please take a look and leave me a comment – Are these easy to understand and use? I would appreciate your feedback – Just keep scrolling down till you see the comment box. Thanks!
68 Comments
rharp
April 27, 2021 - 12:50 amTesting the comments…
Robert Douglass Small
April 27, 2021 - 3:32 amIt looks good to me, I would choose the left hand chart.
Tad Dreis
April 27, 2021 - 3:53 pmLove the scale degree / note names concept. I prefer blow notes on the bottom, draw on the top, as seen in Yerxa’s Harmonica for Dummies. I know the blow plate is physically on top, but I think most people will probably find it more intuitive to see lower notes at bottom, higher notes on top. Granted, the pattern changes at hole 7, but most of us read left to right, and most of us focus initially on the first two octaves. When the pattern changes, we can then say “oh that’s weird” and roll with it bc the lower octaves made sense visually and we already feel secure. I’d vote for blow on the bottom, draw on top, normal bends in between, overblows and overdraws on the outside. Chart 1 looks better to me, color wise, and the whole idea of notes + scale degrees is great.
Steve Champagne
April 27, 2021 - 1:13 amSeems like a pretty clear explanation to me.
George Miklas
April 27, 2021 - 1:14 amRichard, I love your use of cipher numbers, and its easy to see the scalar relationships of the overblown and bends! Most excellent since many advanced players harmonize on scale degrees not letter names.
Marc Seguin
April 27, 2021 - 1:18 amThese look great! Very clear and intuitive to me.
john wonderly
April 27, 2021 - 1:20 amis this a reading/ comprehension test??? The second sentence in the middle info paragraph reads
” the DRAW notes are in the top section….. ( shouldn’t that read -‘ the BLOW notes….’…????
( what did I miss??? )
Tommy Cate
April 27, 2021 - 1:42 amSeconding John Wonderly’s comment…
But otherwise very useful!
rharp
April 27, 2021 - 1:54 ammy bad – i really screwed up – sorry – I’ll change this…
rharp
April 27, 2021 - 1:54 amI fixed it…
Dane
April 27, 2021 - 5:19 amRichard, you’re always building such well thought out & effective tools! I like these very much in spite of my aversion to pentatonic scales. 😉
John DIXON
April 27, 2021 - 7:02 amHi Richard, I think its very easy and clear, I particularly like seeing the note layout and scale degree layout side by side, it makes it much easier to understand what ‘scale degrees’ are for the newbees. Well done and keep up the good work.
Ed
April 27, 2021 - 7:05 amHi John I think you need to read it again. It states draw notes are in the lower section.
Referring to each diagram. The first ( white being blow notes. The lower boxes being the draw notes.
Peter Russo
April 27, 2021 - 1:34 amRichard, I LOVE these charts! I’ve seen charts similar to the one on the left often, but not the scale degree chart, and never side by side. Seeing them that way created a hi-wattage light bulb moment for me. Plus using the charts to illustrate the different scales is such a timesaver. Really helps visualize the scale all at once, like a map.
I did see the same typo John W saw, and also in the last sentence, looks like the word “do” needs to be deleted?
rharp
April 27, 2021 - 2:48 amThanks Peter – I fixed the typo!
Peter Thorneycroft
April 27, 2021 - 1:42 amDitto with John Wonderly’s comments. I like the way you have included the Nashville numbering system, making it easier to relate to any key
Matt Lavender
April 27, 2021 - 2:19 amWhat do the b2, b3, b5, b6 and b7’s mean? I always enjoy your emails, thanks for all you do Richard.
rharp
April 27, 2021 - 12:56 pmThey are referring to notes that are a half step flat of the corresponding notes in the major scale. For example:
C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C are the noes of the major scale. They translate into scale degrees as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 1 (1or 8 for the top note of the scale) The minor pentatonic scale formula in scale degrees is 1 (C) , b3 (flat 3 – Eb) 4 (F), 5 (G), b7 (flat 7 or Bb) Does this make sense?
Nick F
April 27, 2021 - 2:22 amI like the scale degree charts, but wonder if colour coding the degrees might add to its usability?
Also, in case it helps to say, in my own mental map of the harp, I think of the bends decending towards the other natural note in the hole. So for holes 1 to 3 that looks like
C E G
G#
C# F A
F# Bb
D G B
rharp
April 27, 2021 - 2:48 amHi Nick, Thanks for your comment – I designed these so when I give people a pdf to download and print, it does not need to be on a color printer. I am fascinated by your mental model of the harp. Whatever gets the job done!
Steve
April 27, 2021 - 2:29 amRichard,
I am a newbie, not even at amateur level yet. That being said, the scale degree chart is Greek to me, so I cannot comment on what I do not understand yet!
However, I am very much loving the “C” note layout chart, and already see myself using it whenever I have my harp in hand!
What I like:
*The periodic table style chart layout works wonderfully-very easy to read. What is great is that I was able to figure most of it out just looking at the descriptions / color coding on the the chart. For the bent & over notes I had to read the explanation details you included in the instructions below the chart, very clear & easy to understand.
*The explanation details (instructions below the charts) are short & sweet. It only took me a few minutes to get the gist of it!
*I get the whole picture in one chart! Blow, Draw, Bends, over blow, over draw…I can easily practice playing notes while using the chart to see what notes I am playing…This will definitely up my game a few notches!
Nothing to dislike! I feel this is a great teaching aid.
Great work!
Thanks
Steve Bulger
April 27, 2021 - 2:56 amNicely done, Richard. I really like the the note names AND numerical notation. Plus the addition of the same for the pentatonic scale. Well thought out and easy to follow. I appreciate the time that you put into this project!
Bob Leach
April 27, 2021 - 3:03 amVery Cool & Very Useful! Everything else I have to say has been covered above. I’ll keep it short so you can get to work on expanding and finishing these.
Rex Hill
April 27, 2021 - 3:09 amSorry, I can’t read music. Thanks anyway.
Lee Burton
April 27, 2021 - 4:16 amLee Burton,
Wow, great work for visually working with. Everything is laid quite well. Good job, well done Richard.
Keep up the good work. I’ ve never used a lot of the note’s covered, but it was sure an eye opener.
Keep up the good work.
Regards, Lee
Emil Schmuck
April 27, 2021 - 4:21 amHey Richard, the note lay out is easiest follow for me! Coloring the scale degrees would be helpful!
Emerson Coatsworth
April 27, 2021 - 6:03 amWay to go Richard! I agree with all the above positive comments and would hope you can do similar charts for 2nd position, 3rd and 5th. So far, that’s as far I go with my playing.
I have never seen the two types of chart together before, definitely a bonus, since all 12 keys have the same number structure. No matter what key I am playing in, I tend to think in C on the harp and visualize a piano keyboard.
I love your teaching methods and your sincerity. Harp on!
Andy owen
April 27, 2021 - 6:14 amOffers an easier inroad into this technicality. Useful and clear.
Burke T.
April 27, 2021 - 6:21 amGreat Richard. Universal for all keys with the scale notes. Would love to see the minor pentatonic diagram for “second” position. But you probably already are planning to map this out to other scales and modes. Thanks for sharing. Burke T.
Neil Langman
April 27, 2021 - 7:45 amThis is very useful Richard, thanks for posting. It’s clear and easy to use.
Brian
April 27, 2021 - 8:59 amGreat idea. I’ve just been doing a similar chart to learn the chromatic scale on a chrom. harp. I’m using coloured squares, orange for blow, blue for draw, a dot for slide in. I’ve been trying to learn maj/min 7 scale. Figures for scale degrees.
Ricky Cool
April 27, 2021 - 9:06 amThe charts look very clear and understandable to me. They will be a very valuable resource for players.
Mark
April 27, 2021 - 11:04 amWell Richard, as a recent player trying to learn, now I’ll know what notes you pros are talking about when you’re mentioning the flat 7th, the flat 5th etc. I can see printing these off and using highlighters to color code if desired. Good thinking.
"The"
April 27, 2021 - 11:18 amunnecessary OD note on hole 8 inhale (= hole 9 inhale)
rharp
April 27, 2021 - 1:02 pmSome people use this alternative to the built in note, so “unnecessary” is a subjective call.
Art
April 27, 2021 - 11:44 amLooks good Richard. I didn’t realize how little I knew about the layout of the 3rd octave, especially the overblows and overdraws. I play up there, but I’m not as familiar with the actual note layout as I am with the first two octaves.
Dennis Rigg
April 27, 2021 - 11:44 amColours for the notes in a particular scale might improve clarity, but point taken about access to colour photocopiers. I’m not sure what your target audience is for these, but for beginners, having the major scale written out with scale degrees shown beneath would help in making the simple connection between notes and scale degrees.
Stephen Littell
April 27, 2021 - 12:06 pmVery useful and clear. I made a scale degree chart for myself that looks much like yours. Would love to have the neat and printable version that you have constructed. Of course, charts highlighting scale degrees of other positions will prove to be very useful, as well. Thank you.
Mkke
April 27, 2021 - 12:43 pmLooks good here, got to try this out!!!!
Jeff Meyer
April 27, 2021 - 12:49 pmExcellent layout; very clear. Thank you
Michael Cohen
April 27, 2021 - 1:04 pmSuperb for all the reasons stated above, especially having the the charts side by side. Agree with 2nd, 3rd, and 5th (?12th)
Thomas Fiacco
April 27, 2021 - 1:20 pmExcellent ! Very well done-clear and accurate-Dennis turned me on to the scale of degrees many years ago-this puts in a clear and concise form-great job Richard!
Paul
April 27, 2021 - 1:40 pmIt is very helpful to see the note layout along with the degree layout together. I often had to hunt for one or the other when learning to play.
Hal Vandiver
April 27, 2021 - 1:52 pmGreat, intuitive guide Richard. With the exceptions noted and corrected, I have nothing to add except to say thank you for your efforts.
Margie Goldsmith
April 27, 2021 - 2:30 pmRichard, You are always making it easy for us. Thank you. Couldn’t be clearer or more concise. Also, what an innovative way to explain it.
rharp
May 5, 2021 - 1:46 amThanks, Margie, I am glad you find it useful!
Marc Reisman
April 27, 2021 - 3:19 pmRichard, this chart is nudging me to think about things such as scale degrees and notes (vs. hole numbers) that I have avoided thinking seriously about for years when it comes to the harmonica. A bridge of sorts to my early musical training playing the clarinet. Thanks!
Nedra. Russ
April 27, 2021 - 3:25 pmI like it VERY much I teach and this would be a great tool I teach children and adults also I had Julio come see it to teach him a few things as yesterday I heard him tell a friend some misinformation and this way I could gently tell him and he had no idea thanks. Mind you he is a very good musician classically trained. Good job and Thank you.
Jim alciere
April 27, 2021 - 4:13 pmNice never thought of playing cminor in 1st position on a C harp.
Steve
April 27, 2021 - 4:16 pmVery easy to follow. This would be quite helpful to work out a song from sheet music as I tend to get lost when searching for a particular note.
Ken Biegeleisen
April 27, 2021 - 4:29 pmNice chart. I saved it. I don’t need it for everyday use, but since I have only ‘mastered’ (and I use the term loosely) 1 overblow and 2 overdraws, it will be a useful reference for the notes I haven’t ‘mastered’ yet!
Dennis
April 27, 2021 - 6:48 pmHi Richard, this is good but do you know about this little app:
http://www.marekp.cz/harmonica/
Does everything you are trying to do already with color coding and everything – I have used it a lot with my students to talk about scales and note relationships.
rharp
April 28, 2021 - 3:05 pmHi Dennis, Thanks for sending me the link to this app – it is very very useful!
R. Akers
April 27, 2021 - 8:34 pmThese look really great in concept. Something to clip under the sheet music.
I play odd tunings and old restored Koch harps almost exclusively these days, so a bit of tweaking is needed for me.
I hope you will be doing a series of these (to sell, of course) as part of your teaching endeavor. Minor keys, all 12, etc? I’m in.
Maybe you could do some in power bender or paddy Richter?
All right, all right, easy enough for me to find work for you to do…
Alan Burlingham
April 27, 2021 - 9:33 pmThese charts are very useful to me. I’m looking at the scale degree chart for the minor pentatonic scale. Seems like the fifth hole draw should be circled, just as it is on the corresponding note layout chart.
Jim Worsham
April 28, 2021 - 12:33 amHi Richard,
All of this information is already in a great little phone app called “Harp Guru” that is available for iOS and Android. I use the Android version and it works great. There were a few problems with the iOS version when it was first offered but I believe they have all been solved. The app uses color and does everything your charts do and a whole lot more. There are also YouTube videos available to demonstrate how to use it. Check it out. Meanwhile, keep up the good work.
Richard Trafford-Owen
April 28, 2021 - 12:41 amAll makes sense. It would be interesting to see versions with scale numbers. These would apply to any harp in a given position, so you wouldn’t need so many of them.
Jerry Eisner
April 28, 2021 - 1:41 amHi Richard – Once again your thoughtful teaching tools hit the spot.
I have been playing harmonica for 70 years, and since I learned by ear, it has been very hard for me to correlate what I am playing with the actual notes. I don’t automatically know what note I am hitting with an overblow or what a flat 7th is. This can be very helpful. Thank you.
Frank Ryan
April 28, 2021 - 2:32 amThe phrase 10-hole blues harmonica should be replaced by the 10-hole diatonic harmonica.
I’m not sure that you need to have a gray background for draw notes. You typed Blow Notes and Draw Notes on the left. There is less contrast with black type on a gray background, especially when printed out.
The top graphic was OK, but you needn’t create a graphic for the pentatonic minor. You could have just written the notes on a straight line and had room to do the same for the pentatonic major scale and the blues scale, for comparison.
Steve C
April 28, 2021 - 4:47 pmHello Richard, I like the visual layout that eliminates the need for “playing technique” tablature (blow, draw, bend steps, overbends, etc.). I find your visual layout to be intuitive. Personally, I ignore the note names and strictly think in terms of scale degrees. So I would find your work useful.
Years ago I created some tab charts for the playing positions that include scale degrees and I-IV-V chord tones in the column headings. Various scales can be made plain in my charts by highlighting (or shading if you don’t want to use colors) the associated columns. They are useful to me, but I’ve never liked tab, since there is no standard, and it can get complicated, especially for overbends, thus requiring a substantial added legend to define the tab. I’d be happy to send you my charts, if you like.
I like your idea!
Steve
rharp
May 5, 2021 - 1:46 amThanks a lot Steve! It is always going to be some sort of trade off, and I am glad you are OK with the one I came up with…
Bob McDougall
April 28, 2021 - 9:10 pmI am very interested in these charts. Looks like a great learning tool. The chart with the scale degrees would be most helpful with a player of my experience.
Juha
April 28, 2021 - 10:39 pmLooking at draw 2 on note layout, its F#, on scale degree its 5b which would be Gb, so the two do not correlate diagramatically. Sure the two are enharmonic, but it might cause some mental gymnastics for the beginners if it was changed to Gb.
rharp
May 5, 2021 - 1:44 amHi Juha, Point well taken – i will probably have more than one chart for the key of C depending on the position…
Eric
April 29, 2021 - 2:44 pmLooks good!
I like the numbers, and hope you expand this into other positions as well.
rharp
May 5, 2021 - 1:42 amHi Eric, Thanks! – I am working on that!
Mel
April 30, 2021 - 7:39 pmHi Richard, Thanks as always for your insights and work to help harp lovers of all levels figure out this devilish little instrument ! Your most recent version of the chart is elegant, and works even when batteries devices don’t ;+)
rharp
May 5, 2021 - 1:41 amThanks, Mel – I’m happy you find it useful