Re: [Harp-L] Which key?

[Ken Hildebrand <airmojoken@xxxxxxxxx>]

>From years of figuring out song keys, the more harmonicas in different keys you have, the "easier" it is to figure out the song key (having natural minor keys always helps as well).

Just today, I was listening to "Gettin' in Tune" by "The Who" on my way home from work ("Who's Next" was always one of my most favorite albums of all time, before I started playing harmonica... loved listening to this album while cruising around in my '74 Dodge Maxi-van... great memories with that truck!).

Got home and fired the song up on iTunes on my home computer to figure out the song key... well, here's one of those songs that goes thru 4 key changes (F, C, G, D from what I figured out).  

Sure helps to have a good ear and harps in all the keys.. yeah, even a harp in F# (Low F# preferred by me).

Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man" (great song...could have been my theme song back 25 years ago) came up on my iPod this morning on my morning walk before work... sounded "minor"... C harp in 5th position sounded right, so the song key was probably Em... but then the song also sounded like the key of G major during the chorus, but the C harp (in 2nd position) still sounded good.

Key changes and minor tunings always make it interesting to figure out the key of the songs and what harps sound good in different positions.

Makes playing harp very interesting and fun...

Ken H in OH




--- On Tue, 10/19/10, Philharpn@xxxxxxx <Philharpn@xxxxxxx> wrote:

> From: Philharpn@xxxxxxx <Philharpn@xxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Which key?
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Date: Tuesday, October 19, 2010, 11:02 AM
> The real issue here is how to
> determine the key. Somebodysomewhere has a 
> list of the concert key (really the guitar key) the song is
> recorded in on the 
> Internet. The problem comes with somebody records the song
> is key that is 
> not the famous one. And what if you left your laptop at
> home?
> 
> SO now maybe it is time to go round again with the best
> tricks for finding 
> the key on a recording? What's your best way? Anybody? 
> In general, if the song has guitars, chances are it's in a
> guitar friendly 
> key: C, D, E, F, G, A.   If it has horns --
> Dixieland, jazz, it's in a flat 
> key: Ab, Bb, Eb....
> 
> Phil
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> In a message dated 10/19/10 10:06:49 AM, billhines4@xxxxxxxxx
> writes:
> 
> 
> > True, most of us know that, but in the vast number of
> cases, the person 
> > is
> > asking what key the studio version is in, so that they
> can play along and
> > learn it. I think that part is just implicit in their
> question.
> > 
> > Bill
> > 
> > 
>