STME58
384 posts
Mar 10, 2013
1:26 AM
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I got an opportunity to play in an informal setting at a resturant with a singer/acoustic guitar player who normally does his gig solo, but sometimes invites others to join.
I used C,E,Eb,G,B,Bb,F#,D,A,Ab,Db and D minor harps. I was glad I had a full set. I normally use my C harp as a pith pipe to find the key but tonight I tried singing the tonic into my tuner and got the key quickly, A backlit tuner display would have helped.
I discovered I need to learn more riffs and to be able to pick up the melody or a counter melody quickly enough to add it in. I took notes on what was played so I can work out some of the songs and have a shot at doing better next time.
Things did not start well as the first song I tryed to play on was in between E and Eb. After the guitar was tuned closer to A440, things went much better. I told the guitarist afterwards that if he ever needs to make a harp player go away, he can just tune down a quarter step!
Last Edited by STME58 on Mar 10, 2013 1:27 AM
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harp-er
363 posts
Mar 10, 2013
9:21 AM
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I'm wondering how you managed/needed to use 12 different key harps in "an informal setting" with a singer/guitar player?
Really. I don't understand. Help. Was this guy singing and playing in 12 different keys?
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Goldbrick
102 posts
Mar 10, 2013
9:50 AM
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Lots of guitar players tune down, I know I normally tune to e flat to use heavier strings and make acoustics easier to bend on and suit my singing range a little better.
Of course thats planned so I carry Harps in Aflat,A, B and D flat for the usual blues stuff thats shifted a 1/2 step down.
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STME58
385 posts
Mar 10, 2013
9:52 AM
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He was doing a wide range of songs and he was all over the key map. He sits and plays every weekend and has been doing it for 30 years so he knows quite a few songs, mostly stuff you might have heard on the radio in the 60's and 70's.He takes a lot of requests from the audience. How he came to use such a range of keys, and a few unusual keys at that, I don't know. I'll have to ask him. He does tune down a half step.
He did mention that I was pretty good at finding the key, so he may have been having a bit of fun with it. He is a studio musician and he owns and operates a studio so he knows his way around the music. I had fun, and I learned a bit. This is about the third time I have played there but the widest range of keys used.
Last Edited by STME58 on Mar 10, 2013 9:56 AM
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harp-er
364 posts
Mar 10, 2013
10:11 AM
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Curious. I never heard of such a thing. I think in terms of singers especially having a relatively narrow range that they naturally sing in. That might involve a handful of keys - 2, or 3, or maybe 4 - but not 12. I guess he plays guitar in every key though.
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STME58
386 posts
Mar 10, 2013
10:38 AM
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Not only did he play in every key, he sang in every key!
He is quite good and makes it look easy.
He may not have sang in 12 keys, as I sometimes changed harps mid song as the position was not working well.
I find it easier to pick up an unfamiliar tune in 1st position. It is quite an experience trying to add something meaningful on the fly to music you don't know. The crowd was forgiving though, many of them obviously knew the guitarist. We were playing un-amplified in a noisy bar so when I was off it just blended into the crowd noise. When I was on, the guitarist would sometimes back way off, the volume change would get the crowds attention and I would be heard. To give you an idea of the environment, it was a place that served beer in yard long glasses. Occasionally the guitarist would stop mid song as someone lifted a long glass, play rhythmic cords and get the whole crowd chanting CHUG CHUG CHUG.
This is obviously not a guitarist like so many complain about on this site. I met him as my son is taking guitar lessons from him at middle school.
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rbeetsme
1130 posts
Mar 10, 2013
11:50 AM
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I sat in with a well known blues player once. It was just him and me. He did the same thing. I think I played about 6 tunes and they were all in different keys. I wondered if he was checking me out, maybe an impromtu audition.
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The Iceman
787 posts
Mar 10, 2013
12:22 PM
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If you've got all 12, even though a few will hardly ever be used, you've got all the bases covered, so why not?
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The Iceman
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SuperBee
1002 posts
Mar 10, 2013
2:59 PM
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Unusual to need them all in one gig alright, in my limited experience ive not needed more than 7 for 1 gig.
I still haven't ever needed F#, Db or B. luckily for me, because I don't have them.
I bought an Ab years ago because the guys I was jamming with wanted to play Hendrix and SRV songs in Eb. I thought I'd rarely use it but its been very well-used. Likewise my Eb has been very handy; most recently when the bass player called Herbie Hancock's 'Chameleon' in a jam.
The E was a harp I hadn't used much, but I was glad I had it when Mark rolled out his latest original. Funny guy, time was everything he wrote was in G, now he is playing double bass and the rules have changed. He used to write for his voice, but I think he has worked out he can sing just as badly in any key. \;0)
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Johncn
51 posts
Mar 10, 2013
6:08 PM
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My wife says one my problems is that I always carry a full set everywhere I go...but I don't think she's talking about harmonicas.
Johncn
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HarpNinja
3242 posts
Mar 11, 2013
9:13 AM
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I was in a band where I used all 12 keys over the course of the night. I think, though, people are assuming that everything was played in 2nd position.
You can quickly get to 12 if you are doing songs in other positions. Most the time, though, I find 5-7 more than enough to get through a night.
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
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shanester
558 posts
Mar 11, 2013
5:13 PM
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All's I know is if you want to play Abba's "The Winner Takes It All" in 2nd you're gonna need an F#!
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Shane,
"The Possum Whisperer"
Shane's Cloud
1shanester
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Thievin' Heathen
167 posts
Mar 11, 2013
5:26 PM
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Not long ago I went to a band tryout and the guitar player starts it off with, "we're tuned a half step low". At first it did not concern me, I thought, "no problem, I can do the math" but I quickly realized the 365's were out of the picture and all those flat harp I hardly ever use were not in concert condition.
So, always be prepared.
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SuperBee
1006 posts
Mar 11, 2013
7:41 PM
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Playing across different positions can cut both ways of course. You could play in the same key all night and use 12 harps, or play 12 keys using 1 harp.
But as my ranga mate says, it just goes to show, you use the right bait you catch a fish. Glib glub
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Jehosaphat
457 posts
Mar 11, 2013
9:47 PM
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8 years in the same blues band and i only needed 3 harps ..D A C
I lie,one song was in C.
F...!
(now i'd use a Bb)
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STME58
388 posts
Mar 11, 2013
10:49 PM
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Having play mostly trombone in wind ensembles and brass quintets, I don't find the flat keys unusual at all. Some of the first harps I bought were Bb and Eb because those were the most common keys for what I had been playing.
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BronzeWailer
917 posts
Mar 14, 2013
4:20 AM
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When I was a busking novice a couple of years ago I spent 6 months with a guy who played slide in G. Hence my large collection of (dead and alive) C harps... I have an E and a B and use 'em both...
My YouTube
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groyster1
2196 posts
Mar 15, 2013
8:09 AM
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I have never used B,E or F# to play with a guitarist...I have used Eb in third with someone playing Eminor....but have used all the rest
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barbequebob
2226 posts
Mar 15, 2013
8:19 AM
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@Groyster -- I've actually used all of those keys playing in a band where the tunes were very BB King oriented, working with a 4-man horn section and just like BB, working in those unusual keys that tend to be a bit more common for horn players, and so I had to learn all the horn parts.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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JInx
419 posts
Mar 15, 2013
1:53 PM
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I like playing me some Crystal Ship on my Eb. My F# gets me Born Under a Bad Sign in Db, so I can ring that low minor 3rd on the E sting.
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Sun, sun, sun
Burn, burn, burn
Soon, soon, soon
Moon, moon, moon
Last Edited by JInx on Mar 15, 2013 1:56 PM
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