Re: [Harp-L] Boogie On, Reggae Woman

[<ironmanmc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Listening to it now.  My ear tells me: Key of Ab; Ab major diatonic (1st 
position), 7-10 blow notes only, except for the lead-in note on the 2nd solo 
(6D).

This is a great example of what's possible on 1st (and 4th) position high 
notes, and what a lot of diehard crossharpers are missing out on by 
chickening out when they venture too close to the righthand/blow side of the 
harp.  This solo is so simple, and yet so expressive, powerful, and 
*exactly* what the song needed.

However, the harp may actually be G (if the recording was sped up a tad). 
Aside from hearsay to this effect, this (like many Wonder recordings) sounds 
to me like it could have been sped up, to give Stevie a more "boyish" voice. 
His voice doesn't sound like that live.  It's deeper, "heavier" - older (and 
I like it better).  A lot of his tunes are in what I consider to be 
"unlikely" keys (just my opinion), all sharp by something close to (but at 
times not quite) a semitone.



-IronMan Mike Curtis
http://www.IronmanCurtis.com
http://www.SouthlandBlues.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chris Michalek" <Chris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <leone@xxxxxxxx>; <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2006 9:46 AM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Boogie On, Reggae Woman


> It's definately NOT a chromatic.  I don't rememeber what harp he used
> (though key of C in 1st comes to mind)
>
>
>
>
> > ---- Original Message ----
> > From: leone@xxxxxxxx
> > To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> > Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Boogie On, Reggae Woman
> > Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 12:20:27 -0500
> >
> > > On Jan 12, 2006, at 11:20 AM, Jonathan Metts wrote:
> > >
> > > > I've heard Phish's cover many times, but today I heard the
> > original
> > > > Stevie Wonder version for the first time, and I was paying close
> > > > attention to the harp solo.  With so much bending at high speed,
> > it
> > > > sounds more like what I'd expect from a diatonic harp, even though
> > I
> > > > know Stevie is famous for his chromatic playing.  Does anyone know
> > the
> > > > details of what harp he is playing on this song?  If that's a
> > > > chromatic...well, I'll have to see that instrument in a whole new
> > > > light.
> > > >
> > > > Jonathan
> > >  It's a C chromatic played in A. As I have said many many times,
> > > playing a chromo in a key which is NOT it's 'home' key, can net some
> >
> > > very interesting results. This is just on of them. Btw, the bending
> > is
> > > due to the key being a DRAW key. I will be doing this tune tonight.
> > > smokey joe
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
> > > Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
> > > http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l
>
> Chris Michalek
>
> www.michalekstrone.com
> CD Available
> http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/michalekstrone
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
> Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
> http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l