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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
suggestion 4 newb which keys to buy in which order
suggestion 4 newb which keys to buy in which order
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rpnfan
2 posts
May 17, 2014
12:45 PM
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Hi,
I just summarize my findings which might be helpful for other beginners like myself.
I was looking for information which keys to buy. I found that C is the first, because most (basic) instructions and books are based on that key.
I then learned that the 12 usual keys range from a G (low) to a F (high) and that there are sometimes extra keys offered with a "high" or "low" tuning like a low F or a high G or high A or even a low D.
Trying to find which keys are most important (and therefore to be purchased first) I made two small statistics.
A short counting of the blues harmonica songs (from different times) suggested by Winslow Yerxa in "Blues harmonica for dummies" yield:
A: 34
C: 31
Bb: 20
F: 10 + 3 low F
D: 12 (I did not differentiate here for a potential low D)
G: 9 (I did not differentiate here for a potential high G)
E: 1
So the order which keys to buy seems clear to me.
Counting the keys in Adam Gussows albums shows:
A: 14
C: 12
D: 4
Bb: 3
Taking into account that Adam uses often Bb for the Youtube videos the order to buy harmonica keys was clear for me:
Most important: C, A, Bb
Then: D, F
Later: G
Latest: other keys or low or high tunings
Maybe when one wants to practice breathing on the low harps (like Richard Sleigh suggests for a beginnger) G could also be purchased before F? Ah, not to forget Adam suggests to buy a D as a second harp...
In any case if G or D should be placed more towards the beginning I'm now pretty sure that Bb should be listed pretty forefront. Winslow suggests (like many others) to buy
C, A, D, G, F, Bb (in that order)
My purchase route is:
C, A together with Bb, G together with D, and latest F
BTW, I especially like the key of Bb flat, because it feels just "right" for me. If I would have to keep only one harp (to play on my own) I guess that would be a favourite.
Peter
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JustFuya
180 posts
May 17, 2014
1:55 PM
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C is the jump off point. I would suggest E for bends just to learn where they are. A is breathy but good for your health. My current favorite is Bb but this should not be entered into your statistics. I'd hate to skew the results of your poll based on the only customized harp I own. BUT ... many YT blues videos are played in this key. Pissed me off until I got one.
In real life I see that my C, D and G are well worn. I should emphasize that most musicians I play with are better than I and they adjust to my limitations. That's lazy and rude so I'm working on that.
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Slimharp
331 posts
May 17, 2014
2:02 PM
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At first you only need a C. If you are playing to jam tracks I would suggest A,C,D,G and maybe a Bb. In order to help you progress fast you may want to by a decent harp I. E. $40-$50 range. I like Hohner. Sp 20's are great.
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NiteCrawler .
300 posts
May 17, 2014
2:19 PM
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I,m with you on the Bb flat bro,one of my fav,s also but as Slim says sp 20,s A,C,D,G.I,ve always said to beginners that its important to have the varied keys especially if your playing along to records,(in my day)cds,mp 3,s etc..Otherwise different key songs won,t sound right if you just own a C if you get my drift.I bought my son a set of Bluesmasters yrs back for that reason,and the price was right.Enjoy the journey!
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harpdude61
2004 posts
May 17, 2014
2:32 PM
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Bb is Adam's fav., but if my goal was a typical blues jam where a new player would be mostly in cross harp, I would go this order. A,C,D,G,F and finally E and Bb...especially the first three. Most newer guitar players play in E, G, and A
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www.facebook.com/catfishfryeband
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jnorem
205 posts
May 17, 2014
4:12 PM
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These are the five most common guitar keys: C, G, D, A and E, for which you'll need F, C, G, D and A harps. To those I'd add an E harp, for the key of B, an Eb for Bb and a Bb for F. You could then go on to get the next two, but F# and C# are keys that basically never come up, although you might like being able to play 3rd and 5th position on those keys.
But start with the first five.
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Call me J
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SuperBee
1995 posts
May 17, 2014
4:46 PM
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Yeah I dunno you need to plan so carefully really. I don't think it matters. Just get em as you need em.
No question C, A and D will get a lot of use. And Bb is a friendly pitch, which Adam uses in a lot of his free video lessons. I believe that was not a plan, but just because that was the harp he had on hand one time, then he decided to run with it as a point of distinction. Turns out to be a fairly useful key.
But really, enthusiasm will take you a long way. You can practice scales/positions/arpeggios in any key, to find your way around the harp. C is a good enough place to start. But it's different applying techniques to an F harp compared to a G, so you do need to learn the difference at some point. But I think that can wait. If I was starting again, I'd probably let it wait. And just work with an A until I got the hang of it.
Or maybe not, because enthusiasm.
If playing along to recordings and with other musicians rocks your boat, then you will want to do that sooner rather than later, so you need specific appropriate harps...
But there, get the harp you need to play the song. Eventually you get the ones you need anyway.
I got an E to play midnight rambler with my jam buddies. Only song I ever used that harp for. I don't bother carrying it anymore, but for that song I needed it and we had fun for about 6 months.
I have an Eb I used for mercy mercy mercy. New band didn't play that song, but we did play chameleon. Oh, cool, I have an Eb, that works pretty good.
Band I was in once, played a song I just couldn't figure from the answers to my questions about key..but when I really studied what was going on, I figured the part I wanted to play laid out well on an Ab. The song was a big feature of the act and my part was distinctive..that Ab was essential. I carried a backup.
Haven't played that harp for two years now.
An F harp can be tricky to play. Until you get the hang of it. Some folk never play them. But if you want to play along with Sonny Boy, sometimes you want one.
Chances are you'll want to play something that uses a D harp. I play about 50% of my repertoire on a D harp at the moment.
But that's the band and the songs.
If you sing, you'll want to support the keys you sing best in...
So you know...I'm trying to say it's about your circumstances and prioritise your purchases based on that. Stats, yeah ok, if you are buying a set to get a bargain price I guess it matters. But if buying singles just get the key you need when you need it.
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