Re: [Harp-L] Stevie Wonder harmonica

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Not.

Stevie plays fairly rarely in F#, yet a myth persists that he favors it. 

The fact that he slowed down Chakha Khan's "I Feel For You" from F# to F to record his solo is ample evidence that he does not favor F#. The fact that he slowed his own "Do I Do' fro B to Bb to record his solo again shows that he doesn't give favor to sharp (button-in) keys. 

At the time that Stevie recorded "For Once in My Life" his arrangements often modulated up a semitone, sometimes several times during a song - it's an easy arranger's trick to inject fresh energy into a rendition. His harmonica solo happened to come up on that F# transition, and like a good musician, he didn't shy away from it.

Winslow

Winslow Yerxa
President, SPAH, the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica
Producer, the Harmonica Collective
Author, Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
            Harmonica Basics For Dummies, ASIN B005KIYPFS
            Blues Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-1-1182-5269-7
Resident Expert, bluesharmonica.com
Instructor, Jazzschool Community Music School


________________________________
From: Stephen Jennings <harpfixer@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: 'Winslow Yerxa' <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>; 'Robert Hale' <robert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; 'bob piscura' <bpiscura@xxxxxxxxx> 
Cc: "'harp-l@harp-l org'" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx> 
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2014 9:22 AM
Subject: RE: [Harp-L] Stevie Wonder harmonica


Also, 'For Once In My Life' goes up a semitone to F# for the solo, and,
indeed the remainder of the song. This would, perhaps, seem to indicate that
he prefers 'draw, button in keys'. Or not.
Kindest regards to all,
Steve Jennings