Desire can be a little scary. It can get in trouble, landing in places you shouldn\'t be, places where you are out of your depth. It can feel like a ride at the amusement park where you find yourself asking, as you are strapped in, \"Why did I want to get on this thing?\" Then the teacups begin to spin madly around and everyone squeals with the tension of the moment. But if you tap into desire in a healthy way, there is no telling where it will take you maybe to Memphis and Chicago to hear the blues, or to New Orleans. Maybe desire will take to new creative heights in your own living room, playing with friends you\'ve yet to meet. Maybe desire will get in trouble, or maybe it will lead to the true love and what\'s the difference, really? The greatest and lasting attraction of well played blues for everyone is its eerie, edgy beauty the wail of pain, the growl of anger, the whispers of seduction, the hunger of lust, the mystery of hoodoo, the whoop of victory, the despair of loss. There\'s really nothing like the blues to express raw emotion, and if you love the music of America, you have to wrestle with the blues. Straight harp is very useful, but because of its expressive limitations it is not as popular as cross harp, or second position.

You should put some effort into learning straight harp, even if blues is your primary interest it will improve your playing in general and will come in handy for playing along with many styles of music. Sometimes it\'s good to do things the old fashioned way. Blues, rock, country, and jazz require a wider range of expression, which harmonica players discovered they could get by playing their instrument in a different key or technically, a different mode, but let\'s not worry about such a fine distinction. In cross harp the draw chord becomes the home base chord, rather than the blow chord as in straight harp. The straight harp key G, A, A, B, B, D, D, E, E, F, F. The Cross harp key E, E, F, F G, G, A, A, B, B, C, D. The important thing to know is that when you are playing cross harp you are playing the harmonica in a key other than that for which it was originally designed. Playing the harmonica in cross harp or second position, results in a generally more versatile, soulful style of playing often associated with the blues. The primary reason cross harp is a more expressive and fluid way of playing the harmonica has to do with the art of \"bending\" notes, which is a way in which lower the pitch of the notes, something like a slide guitar or trombone. Bending certain notes helps make the harmonica sound like a voice wailing. Don\'t be discouraged if you have already tried bending notes on the harmonica and were unable to get a good sound, or if you are mystified by this and the whole idea of cross harp. These skills do take time to master, not so many people are able to play a little cross harp almost immediately.

Let\'s play the blues riff made famous in Muddy Waters \"Mannish Boy I\'m a Man.\" If you don\'t know this song, find it and listen to it. This song is like early rap the band plays the same riff over and over and over and over again, while the singer kind of chants in between about what a sexy hot young thing he is. Make sure you\'re starting on 3 blow, and in one breath, without stopping, play the first three notes by sliding back and forth. On the fourth note, try popping your tongue off the roof of your mouth, like you are saying \"tuh\" or \"kuh\" backward, only don\'t say it.


By Allan Benson teacher of harmonica and music theory.