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

["John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>]

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