Bugsy
23 posts
Dec 18, 2011
4:16 PM
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...playing with people.
When I try to play with my friend on the piano, it does not sound right. We are in the same key, doing the same chord progressions (standard blues I IV V), but it doesn't sound... right. It doesn't sound like we are playing together. I don't know what it is we aren't doing, but it is getting really frustrating.
I know it is hard to help without hearing, but any advice would be most appreciated.
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Rich
69 posts
Dec 18, 2011
4:24 PM
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If you're in the right key it should sound 'right'.
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Jim Rumbaugh
619 posts
Dec 18, 2011
4:26 PM
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need more inf:
Does it sound right if you play the same thing to a standard I IV V backing track that you may find on Youtube???
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theharmonicaclub.com (of Huntington, WV)
Last Edited by on Dec 18, 2011 4:27 PM
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jim
1094 posts
Dec 18, 2011
4:43 PM
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Perhaps a more detailed description of the part about "the same key" will shed some light upon this dilemma...
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Free Harp Learning Center
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crispyagain
34 posts
Dec 18, 2011
4:52 PM
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Maybe the piano is out of tune.
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FMWoodeye
143 posts
Dec 18, 2011
6:00 PM
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i'm thinking you're not both in the same key. What key is the piano being played in, and what key harp are you playing?
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hvyj
2017 posts
Dec 18, 2011
6:13 PM
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Maybe the piano is out of tune or is tuned to something other than A440. Are you playing ET harps? Personally, I find harps that are not ET tend to sound out of tune with other instruments.
Of course, if you are inexperienced playing with others, your note selection could be off, too. Also, what position are you playing in? In certain positions if you bend it's easy to get out of key unless you are very precise and selective about what notes you are bending. How experienced is the piano player? Maybe he is playing out of key.
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timeistight
270 posts
Dec 18, 2011
6:53 PM
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Next time you're together, ask your friend to play a C major triad, then pick up your C harp and blow.
If that sounds wrong then the piano is out of tune with the harmonica. If that sounds good then there must be something wrong your musical interaction: maybe you aren't actually in the same key, or maybe your or his time is so far out that you aren't making the changes together.
Last Edited by on Dec 18, 2011 9:35 PM
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STME58
59 posts
Dec 18, 2011
7:18 PM
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It is very common for pianos to be "relative tuned" Each time this is done the instrument drifts lower and lower. It sounds ok, until you try to play with another instrument that can not be tuned down to match the piano.
A friend of mine just had is piano tuned up to 440 so he can play along with a harmonica. It cost an extra $200 over the cost of a relative tune job as all of the strings had to be tigntened. Then the intrument has to set for a while to settle into this increased force so that it can be tuned and will stay tuned for a while. The average modern piano has over 230 strings under a combined tension of 15 to 20 tons.
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Bugsy
24 posts
Dec 19, 2011
12:17 AM
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I am sure it isn't tuning or the key. It is not that the sounds clash with each other like that, it is that we just don't sound... together. I play in 2nd position and he just matches that key (since he has 1 keyboard and I have >1 harmonica).
It is what hvyj said: I haven't played with anyone else before. I don't know if it is breathing patterns or... what. I don't understand my problem enough to describe it (I suppose if I understood it, I wouldn't have to come here). We are doing the chord changes and stuff, and I am not going to say we are perfect at it, but we do well enough.
What should I be doing? What should he be doing?
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JInx
151 posts
Dec 19, 2011
12:41 AM
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You both should be trying to mimic your favorite recordings.
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XHarp
461 posts
Dec 19, 2011
3:20 AM
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If you are both in the same key then regardless of tuning pitch you are both in the same key.
If it doesn't sound right then your timing and cadence are off.
You need to include some kind of pace keeping device such as, metronome or basic 4/4 drum track. Then you need to listen to each other.
You're suffering from the same problem that everyone had when starting out.
Try getting the piano player to start with a left hand 4/4 chord "pulse" beat. Count that out 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 then come in on the next 1 beat. If you both jump on it together you'll be in time. The trick is keeping the timing and not speeding up. Slow down, take your time and listen to the beat.
Youu'll get it.
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"Keep it in your mouth" - XHarp
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KingoBad
1011 posts
Dec 19, 2011
6:50 AM
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If you really want it drilled down to exactly what it wrong, record an example and post it here. No one will need to guess and you will get fantastic useable advice.
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Danny
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