earlounge
28 posts
Apr 19, 2010
9:46 AM
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I can't decide what keys to get first. Any suggestions?
I know I need an A, because I use it the most at the local jam. I'm sure it is different for everyone, but I am just looking for some "I wish I got this key" stories.
This is only a problem because I can only get 3 right now and it will be a while before I have the cash to get more.
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Benjamin Earl
NOONE3NOONE - My Youtube
Benjamin Earl - My Bio
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toddlgreene
1249 posts
Apr 19, 2010
10:18 AM
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mine would be(and were) A, Bb and C.
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Todd L Greene. V.P.
Last Edited by on Apr 19, 2010 10:19 AM
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harmonicanick
720 posts
Apr 19, 2010
10:22 AM
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I presume thats a blues jam earl 'cause a lot of blues is in e (2nd pos)
Its a tricky one; well you wont need F# and Db or E at jams and probably not Bb or Ab or Eb
If your budget can stretch then A,C,D are must have closely followed by F and G, good luck
Custom harps are great but they come at a price, there have been many discussions about this on this forum and i wont add to that here, but I would add that I have been playing a long time, and play Golden Melody harps out of the box with just gapping and cleaning, also its easy to change the reed plates if needed quite cheaply.
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HarpNinja
394 posts
Apr 19, 2010
10:40 AM
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Get low keys first.
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HarpNinja
395 posts
Apr 19, 2010
10:40 AM
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Get low keys first.
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Joch230
84 posts
Apr 19, 2010
10:48 AM
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Mine would be D, A, and a tossup between Bb (for 3rd position Cm blues) and high F.
John
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Tuckster
487 posts
Apr 19, 2010
11:00 AM
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I go to a lot of open stages and the keys I seem to play in most are: A,C,D . That's harp key,not song key.
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earlounge
30 posts
Apr 19, 2010
1:00 PM
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Thanks guys... you got my mind cookin! Yes harmonicanick I'm mainly into cross harp.
I think I will go with A and C... can't decide on a Bb or a D.
I have a cool book where all the licks are in Bb cross and a lot of Adams lessons he plays a Bb, but I think it is more likely that IRL I'll be playing in A (D cross) a lot.
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hvyj
285 posts
Apr 19, 2010
2:29 PM
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In actual live playing situations, the key of A (D harp, 2d position) gets called more often than the either the key of F (Bb harp 2d position) or the key of C minor (Bb harp 3rd position). Moral of the story: You will unquestionably get more real life playing mileage out of a D harp than you will from a Bb harp.
Custom harps are expensive. Well worth the expense, IMHO, but expensive nevertheless. Unless you can afford a set, it makes sense to get the keys you will find yourself using the most often for actual live performance. A, C and D (followed closely by F) would be the harps you would need for the most frequently called keys.
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Ryan
265 posts
Apr 19, 2010
3:49 PM
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I agree with Mike, I'd go for the lower keys first. I'd definately get an A because it gets used so often. But after that, I would definately get a G harp. I really hate playing OOTB G harps (and other lower key harps), all the low end bends take a lot of work and ussually don't sound good on a poorly set up harp. The biggest problem I have with it is when I've been playing a higher harp, like a D harp, for awhile and then have to switch to a G harp, the difference between the two is so big that it becomes difficult to adjust quickly. And the G harp ends up feeling slow and clunky in comparison.
A good custom harp can make it so much easier to play and bend, and the diffence between a low harp and a high harp isn't so great.
Last Edited by on Apr 19, 2010 3:50 PM
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