[Harp-L] FLAT!! But Maybe Not??

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

I hate it when other musicians try to tell me what harp to use  
instead of just calling the key of the tune. Not long ago, I was  
sitting in with a band that started to play "Little Wing"  which is  
in E natural minor and the bass player leans over and says, just grab  
an A harp.  Of course, had i followed his suggestion, I would have  
sounded so bad it's unlikely they would have ever invited me to sit  
in again.  I looked at the organ player and said "You're in E minor,  
right?" just to be sure of the key, received a nod, grabbed a C harp  
to play in Fifth Position, and the bass player probably never knew  
the difference. But I just hate it when that happens.

The only exception is a jazz band leader who knows i play in multiple  
positions, and sometimes will suggest that I try using this key or  
that key harp for a certain tune I've never played before.  But I've  
been playing with this guy for a while, he has a Masters in Music,  
and usually makes pretty helpful suggestions that help me handle  
unfamiliar material.  He's not one of those folk who don't know about  
anything other than playing in first or second position but think  
they know what the harp player should be doing.  But, I'll sometimes  
choose to play in Fifth position when he suggests Fourth, since he  
tends to think of Fifth as purely Phrygian, while i think of it as  
natural minor so long as I avoid the flat seconds (draw 5 and draw  
9). So, i may ask him  if i need the second (the "two") to play the  
melody, (as you do more often in jazz than in blues), and if so, I'll  
go with Fourth.  But he's a guitar player and always talks to me in  
terms of keys, not "positions."  I learn a lot playing with this  
guy.  In fact. he's the one who showed me how to play "Little Wing."

Btw, when a band that always tunes down a half step doesn't tell you  
they are doing that, it may not be deliberate.  If they play that way  
all the time, they get so used it that they may just forget to  
mention it.

JP