[Harp-L] Re: Which keys to buy first?



For the key of B MINOR, I would ordinarily use an A harp in third position or a G harp in fifth position (not an E harp in second as is commonly done for B Major). Keyboard players and horn players often like to play blues in Bb (just like guitar players often like to play in blues in E). So, if one is playing out and the band leader plays keyboards, or there's a sax, you can usually expect to be playing more tunes in Bb than may have actually been recorded in Bb.

B major gets called more often for rock material than blues. Horn bands sometimes do tunes recorded in G minor (like "Love and Happiness") in Ab minor instead of G minor because it's easier for the horn guys to transpose and i would play an E harp in fifth position in that situation. So, it's definitely useful to carry an E harp, but it's absolutely essential for me to have an Eb harp.

Bands don't always play tunes (especially blues tunes) in the key in which those tunes were originally recorded. So, playing out a lot with different bands one needs to be prepared for the key that gets called, which may or may not be what you've learned to expect for a particular tune. In my experience, C minor (Ab harp in fifth position) and G minor (Eb harp in fifth position) get called more often than A minor.

JP





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