(13) The F Major Scale

Remember my plan is to initially master several major scales and then to be able to play several simple melodies in each key. After I felt pretty comfortable going up and down the chromatic on the key of C, I began working on the Key F. While one can do that by ear and without musical notation, I continue to purposefully to work on the two skills in parallel. The F Major is:

F G A Bb C D E F (see below for music notation display)

Looking at the diagram below and remember at a "Major scale" has note intervals of whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half

we can see why the Bb is there. We need a half step up when we reach the A to maintain this major interval pattern. Knowing that there is only a half step between B and C, that means From Bb to C is the following required whole step, so we do not play the B pitch. And finally the interval E - F gives us the required half step at the end of the scale.

Note on the musical staff shown below the Line that represents the B pitch has a flat symbol on it to remind us that every time we see a note on the B line we need to flat it. Another way to say that is to play an A sharp or A#.

So what does this mean when it comes to playing the F major scale on a 12 hole chromatic harp? Remembering our note/hole layout:

In the first octave, we could begin with 2 draw and use this tab

F - 2Draw G - 3 blow A - 3draw Bb 3blow/slide C - 5 blow D- 5 draw E-6 blow F 6 draw

BUT! lets remember that and F can also be played as 3 blow/slide because the slide will raise an E a half step making it an F. AND we can play the C as 4 draw/slide because a C is a half step above a B. So the new an improved F major scale would be:

F - 2blow/slide G - 3 blow A - 3draw Bb 3draw/slide C - 4 draw/slide D- 5 draw E-6 blow F 6 blow/slide

WHY? well lets look at the blow draw switching reqirements

The first way would be: draw, blow, draw, blow, blow, draw, blow, draw

we have to switch direction 5 times!

by using the alternate C and F, we get

blow, blow, draw, draw, draw, draw, blow, blow

and we only have to switch directions 2 times!

That will cause the sequence to sound smoother. So method 2 is how I practice the scale. As I play the F major scale, I try to say the note names in my head. This helps because it helps me keep straight whether to blow or draw. I also have my iPad showing the notes using the app OnPitch to make sure I am not practicing incorrectly.