ReedSqueal
297 posts
Jul 03, 2012
5:35 PM
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Very informal, laid back get together. One person I've known since high school. (like 30 years ago) The others I met for the first time. Guitar/singer, bass, drummer.
I've been working on the harp for almost 2 years. I am able to hold my place on jam tracks, keep count and know the cord changes. All the basics, enough to be able to fake it live.. I hoped.
So the guitarist calls out C for the first song. Damn, no F harp. So I sit. Next song comes - Calls a C again. So I sit. Guitarist stops and asks "you don't have a C harp?"
Ummmmm, ok I get it now. But - is it typical/acceptable/whatever for band leader to call out harp keys? I don't think so. Maybe he was just trying to be to be polite. And then he assumes I will be playing 2nd position. I was, but that's besides the point ;-)
Anyways, as Seinfeld would ask "What's the deal with the band leader calling out keys for the harp player anyways?"
Oh, and I was invited back. (maybe it was because brought the ice cold beers)
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Go ahead and play the blues if it'll make you happy.
-Dan Castellaneta
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Thievin' Heathen
7 posts
Jul 03, 2012
5:45 PM
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I personally prefer the band to tell me what key they are playing in. It's the least confusing.
Who's in C? He's in C. Who's he? He in C? I see?
Know what I mean?
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toxic_tone
309 posts
Jul 03, 2012
5:45 PM
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hahahah happens to me alllll the time. they assume that since the song is in C that we need our C harp. where actually we would grab our F .. or if u can Bb for Cminor if you can get away with it.. so long story short YES its very common for them to assume they know what harp you need
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LSC
241 posts
Jul 03, 2012
5:47 PM
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Yeah, it's kind of weird but not unusual for someone to tell the harp player what key harp they'll need. Sometimes it's just to show that they know. Sometimes it's just to see if they do know. Most times it's because they don't know.
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LSC
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Joe_L
1913 posts
Jul 03, 2012
6:29 PM
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If you've been playing for a couple of years, you probably have bigger things to worry about. You should be more focused on getting experience playing with others. If they tell you the Harp key, you're in a better situation than if they left you to figure it out.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
Last Edited by on Jul 03, 2012 6:31 PM
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harpdude61
1467 posts
Jul 03, 2012
7:01 PM
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What is funny is when they call out E,A, and B. They know the chords but do not realize they are in the key of E. I love saying "okay then, I'll use a D harp" and play in 3rd.
You need a F harp. Quite a few songs will be in C. Playing a higher harp is good for the chops as well..IMHO
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didjcripey
316 posts
Jul 03, 2012
7:29 PM
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No biggie; just a simple communication issue. Its just a matter of communicating to the band leader that the most helpful thing to indicate is the key of the song; you may play in one or more of several positions.
Sounds like he was trying to be helpful.
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Lucky Lester
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billy_shines
655 posts
Jul 03, 2012
7:52 PM
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WHAT IS THE BAND KEY? D!... DOG!
or i just use a chromatic tuner and figure it out
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markdc70
119 posts
Jul 03, 2012
8:11 PM
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I've run into this one a lot, and it is kind of exasperating. Seems to me that if the band leader is familiar at all with harp, he will tell you what key harp you need to play in 2nd position, NOT what key the song is in. As soon as you figure that out, just ask him to tell you what key the song is in, not the harp key.
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timeistight
675 posts
Jul 03, 2012
8:59 PM
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I'm confused: was the song in "C" or not?
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ReedSqueal
298 posts
Jul 04, 2012
12:01 AM
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I know he was being helpful. I just didn't understand what his system was at first. I spent the first 12 months of my harp learning fearing the moment a band leader would call out the key of a song, and me not being able to count up, or frantically going through all keys trying to hit the proper key. So I thought I was prepared. It was actually pretty damned funny. I counted up properly but didn't even need to count up.
No biggie. I wasn't trying to sound pompous or self-righteous at all, but re-reading my post maybe it comes across that way.
BTW, the song was in G.
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Go ahead and play the blues if it'll make you happy.
-Dan Castellaneta
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timeistight
676 posts
Jul 04, 2012
1:02 AM
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I hate it when people do that. It's like they assume that a) I can only play in one position and b) I'm an idiot.
Play one in 1st or 3rd; that usually shuts them up.
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Steamrollin Stan
469 posts
Jul 04, 2012
2:13 AM
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Actually i read and watch all these tips put up by ppl who know, if the song is in G then i'll use an C harp, song in A i'll use a D harp, if it dont make sense then the leader is the prob.....i believe.
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The Gloth
666 posts
Jul 04, 2012
3:05 AM
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Usually, I ask the guitar player that he tell me the key of the song, and if it's major or minor key ; most of them never think to precise that.
Playing blues, they usually know the key they play in, but for rock/pop bands it's sometimes harder... I played with guys who composed their own songs but couldn't tell me the key. Instead, they told me the succession of chords, and I assumed the first chord was the key of the song.
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didjcripey
317 posts
Jul 04, 2012
3:29 AM
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If its an issue, you shouldn't really need to ask.
Its like the joke about a guitarist and a harp player falling off a cliff; the guitarist hits the bottom first; the harp player has to stop half way down to ask what key they're in.
If you're playing second position, hit the two draw on the most common keys until you find it.
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Lucky Lester
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Michael Rubin
593 posts
Jul 04, 2012
5:00 AM
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Next time, you call out a song in G. Go up to the guitarist, put your finger on the top string, 3rd fret and say "This is where you start."
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jawbone
476 posts
Jul 04, 2012
6:01 AM
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Just do what I do....
When the guitarist turns so that I can see the fret board to see his fingering...
I show him my harp and point at the 2 hole.....
doesn't help him either. ;-)
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If it ain't got harp - it ain't really blues!!!!
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Greg Heumann
1673 posts
Jul 04, 2012
7:00 AM
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I have harps in every key in my case. If I'm only gonna get up for a few tunes at a jam, and someone wants to play in freakin' Db, then I'm gonna have the right harp. But yes, there are always multiple choices no matter what the key.
BTW - F is a harp you're going to want to have in your bag!
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/Greg
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lumpy wafflesquirt
590 posts
Jul 04, 2012
12:18 PM
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About the only time I get to 'sit in' is with real musicians in a jazz band. These are semi pro/pro guys not amateur pop/rock /blues guys. they know know their theory but can improvise like geniuses.
When they call the key I always check if they mean 'concert pitch' when they refer to the key otherwise they could mean that's the key for the trumpet or the trombone or the sax or clarinet or what they think the harp should be. If I know it is Concert B flat I can decide which harp to use.
Concert pitch refers tot he key you would write it in for a non transposing instrument like a piano.
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"Come on Brackett let's get changed"
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nacoran
5920 posts
Jul 04, 2012
12:53 PM
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I've been jamming lately instead of our regular stuff. I tell the other guy (who's either playing bass or guitar) the harp I've have and tell him, for instance, 'C if you want is pretty, G if you want it bluesy.'
It doesn't really matter which way you do it, just as long as you are on the same page.
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Nate
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Littoral
544 posts
Jul 04, 2012
1:14 PM
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Most of the time I can hear the key, or within a 5th. If my first choice isn't it I try a couple other notes on that harp to get it. "What key are we in" gets old, but on-stage hunting looks pretty rookie. Worst case I'll ask -but there's a damn-it in there by then.
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timeistight
679 posts
Jul 04, 2012
1:17 PM
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...F if you want it jazzy, D if you want it sad, A if you want it sadder, E if you want it exotic, B if you want it weird, Eb if you want me to sit out...
Last Edited by on Jul 04, 2012 4:10 PM
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harmonicanick
1649 posts
Jul 04, 2012
2:51 PM
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@Greg
Bet you got F# too??
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