bluesharper
133 posts
Aug 25, 2010
3:34 PM
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What do you think are the most important key harps for jazz playing?
Last Edited by on Aug 25, 2010 3:34 PM
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ZackPomerleau
1031 posts
Aug 25, 2010
4:29 PM
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I've heard of a lot of players carrying G, Ab, A, Bb, B, and possibly C. I'd say C would be great because it easily plays in Bb and F (which I have heard many jazz tunes in) but the high end can be shrill.
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lumpy wafflesquirt
235 posts
Aug 26, 2010
9:11 AM
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silly answer I know, but it depends what the band are playing in. may also depend on the 'flavour' of jazz.
Also depends on the line up of the band. if it's horns they will like keys such as F, Bb, Eb. if you are playing with a guitar they will probably prefer G, A, D. Key of harp then depends what positions you can/want to play.
Best to get the full 12 Major keys. [and possibly the minors as well]
Why not stick with the chrom and play in any key as most instruments do. Or be clever and play the diatonic fully chromatically as some here would recommend.
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"Come on Brackett let's get changed"
Last Edited by on Aug 26, 2010 9:13 AM
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ZackPomerleau
1032 posts
Aug 26, 2010
10:17 AM
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lw, I know jazz guitarists and they are not ones to like playing in A, D, E, etc. Most will play in the key the song is written because that's how standards are commonly done.
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Diggsblues
467 posts
Aug 26, 2010
10:31 AM
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I always just use a C chromatic seems to work in
all keys. LOL
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How you doin'
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barbequebob
1189 posts
Aug 26, 2010
1:05 PM
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Jazz guitarists rarely have problems in those other keys. Get into an open blues jam, or even among some blues guitar players, playing in E or A is easier because they can do stuff more with the open strings wheras those other keys can be tougher. In Jazz, just the chord voicings alone can be quite different and the entire approach is often FAR different so judging how a jazz guitarist as compared to a lot of the guys who call themselves blues guitarists, especially in the open jams is light years different.
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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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hvyj
554 posts
Aug 26, 2010
1:43 PM
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There was a thread on this topic not very long ago. If you are using diatonic harps, you will often be playing in positions other than second and you will pretty much need to carry a full set of the 12 standard keys. This also gives you the harps you need to get natural minors in fourth and fifth positions, harmonic minors in fourth position and Dorian minors in third position without carrying any minor tuned harps. Also, keep in mind that you may also need to use more than one harp on the same tune.
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ZackPomerleau
1033 posts
Aug 26, 2010
4:43 PM
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Howard Levy played like 3 harmonicas when I saw him. A GOOD Jazz harmonica player can play Dorian minors, harmonic minors, etc, on any harmonica in most any key. No switching needed, that is why people are so keen on overblowing nowadays.
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LittleJoeSamson
432 posts
Aug 26, 2010
4:50 PM
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Chromatic in the key of J.
( Jazz )
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magerlab
1 post
Aug 27, 2010
5:00 AM
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I can not say i'm a jazz player at the moment but i switched to diminished tuning,because it gives me all chromatic notes and i can study all 12 tonalities on one harp.
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just started a dimi harp blog
http://diminishedharmonica.blogspot.com/
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Jim Rumbaugh
293 posts
Aug 27, 2010
5:35 AM
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@majorlab, Welcome to the forum, I just saw your post#1
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intermediate level (+) player per the Adam Gussow Scale, Started playing 2001
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hvyj
555 posts
Aug 27, 2010
8:53 AM
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@Zach. I don't pretend to be GOOD and I don't OB. So I have to get by using multiple positions. As a practical matter, this means that I regularly use all of my harps playing the little bit of jazz I do play EXCEPT B--i don't actually use my B harp very often.
If one uses 5th position for natural minors (which I do on a regular basis) one winds up using odd key harps regularly. For example, in 5th position C minor =Ab harp; F minor=Db harp; G minor=Eb harp; Bb minor=F# harp; Ab minor = E harp (and yes, jazz tunes get called in keys like Ab minor and Bb minor).
And, btw, there's plenty of jazz tunes in keys like A, G, D, etc. For example, "Jean Pierre" is in A. "All Blues" is in G. Jazz uses all keys.
There are a lot of limitations in playing jazz on a diatonic harp whether one OBs or not. The jazz musicians I play with are really decent about spoon feeding me by carefully selecting material that I can handle on a diatonic. If the jazz musicians I play with are willing to do that, I would consider it extremely disrespectful to show up for a jazz gig without all harps required to play whatever tunes get called that I can handle on a diatonic.
For playing blues and rock one may be able to get away with carrying only 7 or 8 keys. Not so for jazz.
Last Edited by on Aug 27, 2010 11:50 PM
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lumpy wafflesquirt
236 posts
Aug 27, 2010
9:14 AM
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@BBQ bob thats the difference between a rock gutarist and a jazz guitarist.....
A rock Guitarist plays 3 chords to thousands of people.
A Jazz guitarist plays thousands of chords to three people
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"Come on Brackett let's get changed"
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6SN7
80 posts
Aug 27, 2010
11:53 AM
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I play Jazz in second position. Eb, F, Bb and Ab harps are the ones on my most recent set list. Eb is very common.
Last Edited by on Aug 27, 2010 11:54 AM
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sammyharp
3 posts
Aug 27, 2010
1:42 PM
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I think overblowing is pretty much essential for jazz diatonic playing if one wants to go further than just scratching the surface of jazz.
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ZackPomerleau
1038 posts
Aug 27, 2010
3:08 PM
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Hvjy, it might be in ALL keys like ANY style of music but there are COMMON keys and I named many of them. You do not need all twelve keys for jazz.
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hvyj
559 posts
Aug 27, 2010
11:27 PM
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@Zack: Well, i can't reliably get through a jazz gig w/o 11 harps. But, I don't OB so I am playing in different positions quite a bit. But one can also get quite a bit of mileage out of second position. I don't necessarily use all 11 keys at every gig, but I use them all regularly enough that I wouldn't carry fewer.
I guess it all depends on the repertoire. I've been playing jazz w/ 2-3 bands on a regular basis for the last two and a half years. Actually, a couple of band leaders I work with in non-jazz bands like my playing and invite me to sit in w/ their jazz bands regularly which is how this has come about. Then some of the jazz guys they play with also invite me to sit in with other jazz bands they play with. I don't pretend to be a particularly good jazz player, but I'm learning a lot and have wound up playing more jazz than i ever thought I would. I mean, I've never considered myself a jazz player to begin with. But, anyway, I have not been able to identify "COMMON" jazz keys like I can w/ rock and blues. But, YMMV.
@sammyharp: I agree w/ you about OBing. But I'm content just to scratch the surface for the time being.
Last Edited by on Aug 27, 2010 11:46 PM
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