Transposing riffs or tunes to another octave.
- It is a good exercise to transpose songs from one octave to another. It will make you more familiar with your Harmonica.
- You will also find this technique useful when writing solos. If you are stuck for a new idea, you can transpose one of the riffs you are using up or down an octave.
- Initially you may find this difficult to do by ear, but you can use a program like Harping Midi to transpose melodies up or down as many octaves as can be reached on your harmonica.
- Do this for as many songs as you can and after a while you will notice that you will be able to transpose songs by ear.
Amazing Grace
On the Top Octave
Amazing Grace
Transposed down one Octave
Last of the Summer Wine
On the low Octave
Last of the Summer Wine
Transposed up one Octave
Notes:
If a song covers more than two octaves on your harp it cannot be transposed note for note without the use of some artistic deviation from the original melody line. Go for it! You’re and artist, aren’t you?
If your song has a -6 or -5, these notes will transpose down to bent notes -3″ and -2″. It can be difficult to get bent notes to sound good in a straight melody. However, it is a good exercise to learn to play the same melody on different octaves. Keep trying to perfect your tone on those bent notes.