Aaah, a plague upon the ingorant scaredy-cats afeared of harmonicas!
At open jams and where harps etc. are otherwise invited to play, I have for years - decades - occasionally encountered players (usually guitarists) who, when discovering harmonica in their midst, and even before hearing it played, change to keys like B or Db or F# etc, assuming most harp players play in 2d pos and won't have these less-played keys.
I call it the "keep-away", and it's cowardly, rude and counterproductive. So what if a tyro harpist is there, at a jam it's for people to stretch and learn, no?
Long ago I started carrying a full set, so those silly twits can't keep me away with that method, altho of course I was pretty awful back in the 70's, even then I always played with a light hand, listening and laying off alot (I ain't no hotshot, but I'm at least tolerable).
Ya gotta be persistent and - just like many guitarists - be willing to be somewhat obnoxious to elbow your way in to the mix.
Now that's different from the silly SRV string-loosening thing, since a half step is no prob if it's correct, and most keyboards prefer to keep near A440. Would Mike Finnigan have played his B3 on Jimi's Rainy Day if it wasn't A440?
Naw, my fellow gobironists, if a plankspanker's playin' "keep-away," bust him or her on it, openly, and and stop everything and get'em back to A440. Or leave where ya ain't wanted, with a liberal (and polite but clear) dose of commentary.
Who'd want to play with such a-holes anyway?
-Dave "Elbows R Us" Fertig
--- On Thu, 4/1/10, harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx<harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Re: [Harp-L] FLAT!! But Maybe Not??