Re: jazz jam, keys

["Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

- ----- Original Message ----- 
From: Harmonica Teacher
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2004 1:22 AM
Subject: jazz jam, keys


"You don't know what you don't know."

I went to a jazz jam Monday night to expand my awareness from the blues,
country, and classic rock that I am comfortable with.

I prepared two songs ("Don't get around much anymore" Nat Cole,and "what a
wonderful world" Louis Armstrong) and practiced them in the keys that I
wanted to play, using Lee Oskar Melody Makers.

I got some surprised looks when I called a tune, and was informed that "the
right key is..."

So, my Jazz-oriented friends on the list here... Is there an expectation to
arrive and call my tunes in "the right key?" What if ten singers recorded
the song in ten different keys?


Robert Hale
"the Duke Of Wail"
Coaching By Telephone
MailTo:HarmonicaTeacher@xxxxxxx
Gilbert, Arizona

Hi,
Actually, I understand where they're coming from because some songs seem to
flow better in certain keys, and there is also the factor of the more
comfortable keys for certain instruments, as horns often like the flatted
keys as an example of that. A tune that is often thought of as a Jazz
standard, the Erroll Garner tune, "Misty," was originally done in E-flat,
and I've heard this in all 12 keys, but to my ears, this tune and the key of
E-flat is a match made in Heaven, as is the blues standard, "Got My Mojo
Working," which is usually done in E (although when I've worked with female
vocalists, they usually don't do the more easily recognized Muddy Waters
version, but the Ann Cole version, which actually came out first, and Ann
did it in D).

Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
MP3's: http://music.mp3lizard.com/barbequebob/