© 2015 Deborah Henson-Conant FN: SHF-DHC-PlayWithFreedom-PlaySheets.indd

Do you wish you could just sit down and PLAY??? Do some people just ‘have” that ability and others don’t???

EVERYONE has that ability. This handout gives you the basics ŽĨ�ŽŶĞ�ŽĨ�ƚŚĞ�ƐŝŵƉůĞƐƚ͕�ŵŽƐƚ�ďĞĂƵƟĨƵů�ĂŶĚ�ŵŽƐƚ�ŇĞdžŝďůĞ�ŵƵƐŝĐĂů�improv forms: the Blues. Learning Blues on the harp is a great ĮƌƐƚ�ƐƚĞƉ�ƚŽǁĂƌĚƐ�ŝŵƉƌŽǀŝƐŝŶŐ�ŝŶ�ĂŶLJ�ĨŽƌŵ͘�

In this Jumpstart Webinar you’ll get the basics of Blues for harp Ͳ� ĂŶĚ� ǁŚĞŶ� LJŽƵ� ũŽŝŶ� ƚŚĞ� ĨƵůů� ϲͲtĞĞŬ� ĐŽƵƌƐĞ͕� ͞�>h�^� ,ĂƌƉ^ƚLJůĞ͟�LJŽƵ͛ůů�ůĞĂƌŶ�ƚŽ�ƉƵƚ�ŝƚ�Ăůů�ŝŶƚŽ�ĚĂŝůLJ�ƉƌĂĐƟĐĞ͗�ďĂƐƐůŝŶĞƐ͕�ƌŝīƐ͕�ĐŽŵƉŝŶŐ�ƉĂƩĞƌŶƐ͕�ďůƵĞƐ�ƐĐĂůĞƐ�ĂŶĚ�ŝŵƉƌŽǀ͘

/Ĩ�LJŽƵ͛ƌĞ�ůŝŬĞ�ŵĞ͕�LJŽƵ�ůĞĂƌŶ�ďĞƐƚ�ǁŚĞŶ�LJŽƵ�ĐĂŶ�ĂƐŬ�ƋƵĞƐƟŽŶƐ͕�ŐĞƚ�ĚŝƌĞĐƚ�ĨĞĞĚďĂĐŬ�ĂŶĚ�ƐŚĂƌĞ�ǁŝƚŚ�ŽƚŚĞƌ�ƐƵƉƉŽƌƟǀĞ�ůĞĂƌŶĞƌƐ. dŚĂƚ Ɛ͛�ǁŚLJ�/�ĐƌĞĂƚĞĚ�ƚŚŝƐ�ŽŶůŝŶĞ�ůĞĂƌŶŝŶŐ�ƉƌŽŐƌĂŵ͘

�ŶĚ�ŝŶ�ϮϬϭϲ�Ͳ�/͛ǀĞ�ĂĚĚĞĚ�Ă�ƐƉĞĐŝĂů�ƐĞĐƟŽŶ�ƚŽ�ƚŚĞ�ĐŽƵƌƐĞ�Ăůů�ĂďŽƵƚ�‘restyling’ Blues to use at bedside or in music therapy - so no ŵĂƩĞƌ�ǁŚĞƌĞ�ŵƵƐŝĐ�ĮƚƐ�ŝŶ�LJŽƵƌ�ůŝĨĞ͕�LJŽƵ�ĐĂŶ��ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞ�ƚŚĞ�ũŽLJ�ŽĨ�ƐŝƫŶŐ�ĚŽǁŶ�Ăƚ�LJŽƵƌ�ŚĂƌƉ͕�ƉůĂĐŝŶŐ�LJŽƵƌ�hands on the strings, closing your eyes and just playing your heart out.

“I wanted a “sense of play” with my harp. This has been the perfect course!” ZĂĐŚĞů�^ĐŚůĂĨĞƌͲWĂƌƚŽŶ�

Deborah Henson-Conant’s“Jumpstart Blues!” Playsheet

�ĞĐĂƵƐĞ�ƐŽŵĞƟŵĞƐ�LJŽƵ�ũƵƐƚ�ŶĞĞĚ�ƐŽŵĞŽŶĞ�ƚŽ�ƐŚŽǁ�LJŽƵ�ƚŚĞ�ĚŽŽƌ�ƚŽ�LJŽƵƌ�ŽǁŶ�ĐƌĞĂƟǀĞ�ĨƌĞĞĚŽŵ͘

Register for the full “BLUES HarpStyle” NOW at BluesHarpStyle.com HipHaRp.com

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“The sense of empowerment I ŚĂǀĞ�ŶŽǁ�ŝƐ�ƌĞĂůůLJ�ŝŶĐƌĞĚŝďůĞ͘͟ �

:ĞŶŶŝĨĞƌ�<ĞůůĞƌ��

This one-hour workshop is a warm-up for my 6-Week “Blues Harp-Style” ƉƌŽŐƌĂŵ�ĨŽƌ�ŚĂƌƉ�ƉůĂLJĞƌƐ�Ͳ�ůĞǀĞƌ�Žƌ�ƉĞĚĂů�Ͳ�ŇĞĚŐůŝŶŐ�ƚŽ�ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ͘���

“Playing almost daily at hospital or hospice, I put all this into ƉƌĂĐƟĐĞ�ŝŵŵĞĚŝĂƚĞůLJ͕�ƐŽ�ŝƚ�ƌĞĂůůLJ�sinks in.” �ĞƚƐLJ�^ĐŽƩ��ŚĂƉŵĂŶ

Deborah Henson-Conant’s “Jumpstart Blues” in D Page 1 A"Hands(On"Jumpstart"Blues"Workshop"for"All"Levels"

HipHarp.com ~ BluesHarpStyle.com ©2015 Deborah Henson-Conant• FN: BHS-WorkshopHandout-SEHW-4-pager.docx.. • SD: 1/3/16 2:56 AM PD: 1/3/16 2:57 AM • P.1

Here’s what we’ll Do in DHC’s “Jumpstart Blues”

1. Learn the Basics of Slap Bass, Swing Fee, 12 Bar Form, Basslines, Riffs, Comping and then put it together into a Blues.

2. Use the Big Letters to create a bassline & as fenceposts for melodic improv; build Chord Shapes (based on Big Letters) for comping patterns and melodic riffs. 3. Play it all within the 12-Bar Blues harmonic FORM, using the Swing Rhythm and, if you can, a Slap Bass.

Just focus on feeling and playing the underlying groove of the swing rhythm. Don’t try to get the notes right – just get into the ZONE of the groove and then see if you automatically discover ways to either simplify or embellish so it works for you. The point is to find your personal way into Groove by keeping those elements simple, focusing AWAY from trying to be ‘creative’ or finding ‘notes’ and really connect with your inner rhythm/feel/groove. When you can do that, you’ll create a powerful foundation for everything else that you learn about the Blues!

3. Create an ARRANGEMENT by repeating the 12-bar form in different ways

Deborah Henson-Conant’s “Jumpstart Blues” in D Page 2 A"Hands(On"Jumpstart"Blues"Workshop"for"All"Levels"

HipHarp.com ~ BluesHarpStyle.com ©2015 Deborah Henson-Conant• FN: BHS-WorkshopHandout-SEHW-4-pager.docx.. • SD: 1/3/16 2:56 AM PD: 1/3/16 2:57 AM • P.2

Building Chords & Melodies from Big Letters 1. Tuning & Key Center: The Harp is Tuned in C but we’re Playing Blues in D

2. Slap Bass: We’ll use slap-bass for our bassline (Thank you Lori Andrews!)

3. Big Letters & Chord Shape These ‘Big Letters’ are all we need to build the chords – once we have these Big Letters and know how we’re going to build the shapes, we don’t need to think about the actual ‘notes.’ Remember that the thumb of each hand is on the Big Letter. Play these 3 chords to get familiar with them.

4. Chord Shape as Comping (Note the location/geography, and that it’s chordal, rhythmic, and played with a swing feel) On the Left – playing the chord on the “+’ of 1 –either letting it ring or damping it. On the Right - playing two chords per measure:

5.

5. Chord Shape as Melody (Note the location, that the notes appear in linear sequence, with swing feel) – On the left a basic melody. On the right a syncopated version of the same melody.

6. Phrase Ender (Dovetailed riffs - with optional Bent Note) I want you to focus on filling the last measure of the 12-bar form with a strong, intentional groove. So if you do this slide for fun just make sure you also spend time NOT doing the slide and filling with rhythmic notes.

D G A

© 2015 Deborah Henson-Conant FN: SHF-DHC-PlayWithFreedom-PlaySheets.indd

Deborah Henson-Conant’s“Jumpstart Blues!” Playsheet

BONUS! Chords for Responsive & Contemplative Blues

Free your deepest musical passionsLiberate yourself from the page

Register for the full 6-Week “BLUES HarpStyle” NOW at BluesHarpStyle.com

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Dm Blues

This is your 12-bar pattern. I'm showing it here in the key of Dm because that's what I played in the video examples.Note there are 4 different chords. To try this in different keys, plug in the chords from the different keys below.

www

D m 9i

wwwwwww

D m 9i

wwwwwww

D m 9i

wwwwwww

D m 9i

wwwwwww

G m 9iv

wwwwwww

G m 9iv

wwwwwww

D m 9i

wwwwwww

D m 9i

wwwwww

E m 7( b5)ii

wwwww#ww

A 7*V*

wwwwwww

D m 9i

wwwww#ww

A 7*V*

&?

### ## # # #

# # #

# # ## ## #

œœœœœœœœ œœœœ

œœœœn

All Levers Up (Key Signature: E Maj)C# Minor Blues

œœœœœœ œœ

œœ

C#m 9 F#m 9 D#m 7( b5) G#7*i iv ii V*

œœœœœœœœ œœœœ

œœœœn

Lower D#'s to Dn (Key Signature: A Maj) F# Minor Blues

? &œœœ

œœœ œœ œœ

F#m 9 B m 9 G#m 7( b5) C#7*i iv ii V*

œœœœ œœœœ œœœœœœœœb

Lower G#'s to Gn (Key Signature: D Maj)B Minor Blues

œœœ œœœ œœœœ

B m 9 E m 9 C#m 7( b5) F#7*i iv ii V*

&?

#

#

n

nb

bœœœœ

œœœœ œœœœ œœœœ#

Lower C#'s to C n (Key Signature: G Maj)E Minor Blues

œœœœœœ œœ œ

E m 9 A m 9 F#m 7( b5) B 7*i iv ii V*

œœœœ œœœœœœœœ œœœœ#

Lower F#'s to F n (Key Signature: C Maj)A Minor Blues

œœœ œœœœœ œœ

A m 9 D m 9 B m 7( b5) E 7*i iv ii V*

œœœœœœœœ œœœœ

œœœœ#

Lower Bn's to Bb (Key Signature: F Maj)D Minor Blues

œœœœœœ œœ

œœ

D m 9 G m 9 E m 7( b5) A 7*i iv ii V*

&?bb

b bb b bb b b

œœœœ œœœœœœœœ œœœœ#

Lower En to Eb (Key Signature: Bb Maj)G Minor Blues

œœœ œœœœœ œœ

G m 9 C m 9 A m 7( b5) D 7*i iv ii V*

œœœœœœœœ œœœœ

œœœœn

Lower An to Ab (Key Signature: Eb Maj)C Minor Blues

œœœœœœ œœ

œœ

C m 9 F m 9 D m 7( b5) G 7*i iv ii V*

@2015 Deborah Henson-Conant / BHS-Blues-in-8-keys_v3dhc.mus!� / SD 2/10/15

Minor Blues in 8 Keys on Eb Lever Harp & Pedal HarpDeborah Henson-Conant

What I'm trying to do here is show how you can use the same basic pattern in 8 different keys on lever harp to play Blues.You'll only need to know 4 chords in each key and only one of them requires a lever-change. I'm not suggesting you learn all these keys. This is just a resource to help you explore these keys if you want.

* Of the notes I've put in the V position in each key, you can make some choices about which ones you actually play. I generally like to play at least 3 of the RH notes, and I choose the ones I like best by balancing these 4 things:

1) What I love the sound of2) What's easiest for my brain to think3) What's easiest for my hand to grab4) What's easiest for my eyes to see

NOTES:You can simplify the LH by just playing an octave (the lowest note plus an octave above it) instead of what's written here.

For all the V chords (like A7 in the Dm Blues), you'll always need to change one lever to play the accidental whenever you play that chord. The reason you move the lever up in some keys and down in others is that we sometimes need to play the accidental as an enharmonic (we might play Bb instead of A#).PEDAL HARPS: You'll need to find enharmonic equivalents for the V* chords - we tried to leave space to the right of each so you can write in your ord

&?bb44

44wwww

Dm Blues

This is your 12-bar pattern. I'm showing it here in the key of Dm because that's what I played in the video examples.Note there are 4 different chords. To try this in different keys, plug in the chords from the different keys below.

www

D m 9i

wwwwwww

D m 9i

wwwwwww

D m 9i

wwwwwww

D m 9i

wwwwwww

G m 9iv

wwwwwww

G m 9iv

wwwwwww

D m 9i

wwwwwww

D m 9i

wwwwww

E m 7( b5)ii

wwwww#ww

A 7*V*

wwwwwww

D m 9i

wwwww#ww

A 7*V*

&?

### ## # # #

# # #

# # ## ## #

œœœœœœœœ œœœœ

œœœœn

All Levers Up (Key Signature: E Maj)C# Minor Blues

œœœœœœ œœ

œœ

C#m 9 F#m 9 D#m 7( b5) G#7*i iv ii V*

œœœœœœœœ œœœœ

œœœœn

Lower D#'s to Dn (Key Signature: A Maj) F# Minor Blues

? &œœœ

œœœ œœ œœ

F#m 9 B m 9 G#m 7( b5) C#7*i iv ii V*

œœœœ œœœœ œœœœœœœœb

Lower G#'s to Gn (Key Signature: D Maj)B Minor Blues

œœœ œœœ œœœœ

B m 9 E m 9 C#m 7( b5) F#7*i iv ii V*

&?

#

#

n

nb

bœœœœ

œœœœ œœœœ œœœœ#

Lower C#'s to C n (Key Signature: G Maj)E Minor Blues

œœœœœœ œœ œ

E m 9 A m 9 F#m 7( b5) B 7*i iv ii V*

œœœœ œœœœœœœœ œœœœ#

Lower F#'s to F n (Key Signature: C Maj)A Minor Blues

œœœ œœœœœ œœ

A m 9 D m 9 B m 7( b5) E 7*i iv ii V*

œœœœœœœœ œœœœ

œœœœ#

Lower Bn's to Bb (Key Signature: F Maj)D Minor Blues

œœœœœœ œœ

œœ

D m 9 G m 9 E m 7( b5) A 7*i iv ii V*

&?bb

b bb b bb b b

œœœœ œœœœœœœœ œœœœ#

Lower En to Eb (Key Signature: Bb Maj)G Minor Blues

œœœ œœœœœ œœ

G m 9 C m 9 A m 7( b5) D 7*i iv ii V*

œœœœœœœœ œœœœ

œœœœn

Lower An to Ab (Key Signature: Eb Maj)C Minor Blues

œœœœœœ œœ

œœ

C m 9 F m 9 D m 7( b5) G 7*i iv ii V*

@2015 Deborah Henson-Conant / BHS-Blues-in-8-keys_v3dhc.mus!� / SD 2/10/15

Minor Blues in 8 Keys on Eb Lever Harp & Pedal HarpDeborah Henson-Conant

What I'm trying to do here is show how you can use the same basic pattern in 8 different keys on lever harp to play Blues.You'll only need to know 4 chords in each key and only one of them requires a lever-change. I'm not suggesting you learn all these keys. This is just a resource to help you explore these keys if you want.

* Of the notes I've put in the V position in each key, you can make some choices about which ones you actually play. I generally like to play at least 3 of the RH notes, and I choose the ones I like best by balancing these 4 things:

1) What I love the sound of2) What's easiest for my brain to think3) What's easiest for my hand to grab4) What's easiest for my eyes to see

NOTES:You can simplify the LH by just playing an octave (the lowest note plus an octave above it) instead of what's written here.

For all the V chords (like A7 in the Dm Blues), you'll always need to change one lever to play the accidental whenever you play that chord. The reason you move the lever up in some keys and down in others is that we sometimes need to play the accidental as an enharmonic (we might play Bb instead of A#).PEDAL HARPS: You'll need to find enharmonic equivalents for the V* chords - we tried to leave space to the right of each so you can write in your ord

A minor - Contemplative Blues ChordsThese are the four chords I developed to use for contemplative Blues on harp:

This is the basic harmonic structure you’ll use for this Blues:

i i i i iv iv i i ii V* i [V*]

When you come to the “V” chords, you need to slide your G to G#