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

[Michael Peloquin <peloquinharp@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

John posts: 
> 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.

Good points all John but I have a couple things to clear up-

most horn players that I have come across tend to be on the better end
of musicianship than most other players... G minor is probably easier
for most (myself included) than Ab minor. G minor is Bb major and much
more common than Ab minor/Cb(B) major.   Ab is great on tenor sax for range reasons --that is our lowest note incase there is no baritone sax, it is nice to have that low Ab concert on a tune like Love and Happiness. 

Love and Happiness was originally recorded by Al Green in Ab minor. I
have played it in Gm, Am and just recently in F#m. My experience has
been that key selection is largely driven by the singer not horns or
guitar.

Certain tunes sound best in certain keys for guitar because of open
strings that give a distinctive sound to signature riffs & hooks.



Harmoneecah content... Stevie Wonder sings For Once in My Life in F and
then they modulate to F# for the harmonica solo... it would have never
been the same in F! Hey everybody, learn how to articulate like the horns on this Love and Happiness, it is textbook example of how to play IMO.

Michael Peloquin
http://harpsax.com
http://myspace.com/peloquinharpsax