RE: [Harp-L] what is a key

["Gary Lehmann" <hqr@xxxxxxx>]

Let me have a whack at it--

Before I start, I want to remind everyone of the overtone series. One of the
reasons the resourceful American Negro created the blues on the harmonica is
that the equal tempered tuning was grotesque to his/her ears. By bending the
draw notes, an intonation closer to the natural overtone series was
available--blue third being the most crucial. Our major scale pattern is
based on the overtone series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtone_series

So is a tonal center the same as a key? Is Am the same as C?
I tend to think of the key of the song in two ways--the note the song ends
on, that is most numerous, and the major scale created by summing the notes
and sorting them into a major scale pattern. A good example of this for me
is What I like About You by the Romantics--starts and ends on E, chords are
E, A, D, which when spelled out and lined up in alphabetical order spell an
A major scale. So it's in E7 or 3 sharps. BUT the note of the melody on the
important word "you" is a G note--not really blue, pretty much a tempered
note--so that would indicate D major. Harder on harmonica tho because of the
draw bends--best to just stick with an A harp and blue the thirds.
Most good songs don't stay in one major scale pattern--the blues uses
repeated riffs but it uses dominant sevenths for most of the chords!

Here's what Wiki says:
"Although the key of a piece may be named in the title (e.g. Symphony in C),
or inferred from the key signature, the establishment of key is brought
about via functional harmony, a sequence of chords leading to one or more
cadences."
Also:
"Although many musicians confuse key with scale, a scale is an ordered set
of notes typically used in a key, while key is the center of gravity,
established by particular chord progressions."

Ciao,
Gary

-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Michael Rubin
Sent: Monday, November 13, 2006 7:15 AM
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Harp-L] what is a key

I have to say I disagree with Rainbow Jimmy.  A key is not a range of notes.
Let's say you play the lowest C and the highest C in the world.  Are not
both of these notes in the key of C?  The range of the melody will vary
slightly as one changes keys, but this is not really what a key is.  Perhaps
it is a subset of what a key is.
  I like the word someone used yesterday- a "family" of notes,chords, etc.
Imagery is really good with students.  I do not think it truly defines what
a key is, but I think it is one more way to explain that gets the general
idea across.
  I like what Larry Einsenberg said something about the tonic note and mode
being the common denominator between players for communciation purposes.
Cool.
  Keep them coming.
  Thanks
  Michael Rubin