The liner notes to Yazoo Records’ The Young Big Bill Broonzy: 1928-1935 (written by Stephen Calt, Nick Perls and Michael Stewart) contain the following passage:
“While the preface of Broonzy’s own story Big Bill Blues trumpets him as a ‘country bluesman,’ many apostles of this virtually undefinable artform [sic] don’t consider him as such. They point to Broonzy’s dependence on the key of C with its heavy ragtime accent in an effort to typecast him as a rag musician who couldn’t make the blues scene. Yet the three tracks in the key of E belie this claim and point up Broonzy’s contribution to ‘hard blues.’”
The tracks in the key of E are Mississippi River Blues, Starvation Blues, and The Banker’s Blues. It might be worth noting that these are the only songs on the album that have the word “blues” in the title.
In a Youtube video about keys (MBH.180), Adam says that blues guitarists like to play in E and piano players like to play in C. I suppose this generalization is consistent with what the liner notes say since guitar is often associated with “country blues” and piano with ragtime and more urban sounds. I was wondering why these instruments gravitate naturally to those keys. Also, is there something inherently “bluesy” about the key of E? Didn’t SBWII record some quintessential Chicago blues songs (e.g., Cross My Heart, The Key and Nine Below Zero) in the key of C on an F harp?
I have a fairly limited understanding of music theory, so I would appreciate it if people don’t take for granted any technical terms or concepts needed to explain this phenomenon. Thanks!
My understanding is E is just an easy key for guitar players to play in without a capo. If you can learn blues progressions and play in E you can play the blues on guitar. Different instruments have different keys that are easier for them to play in. In turn, styles of music that rely on those keys get associated with music that uses those instruments a lot.
Keys used to be much more complicated than they are today, and there was much more difference in tuning schemes. Now, the big thing, at least if your bands guitar players know how to play in multiple keys (hopefully they do!) is pitch. The harmonica can get buried in the mix if it's too low of a pitch and can be shrill if it's too high a pitch. E is played in cross in A, which is a nice range for the harp.
(Piano players (as opposed to pianists) like to play in C because it's just all the white keys.
Harmonica is kind of backwards compared to other instruments. They change what key they play sometimes to make it easier to play on their instrument of choice. A harp player is more likely to just grab a different harp.
Here is a link to an article that gives you an idea of just how much more confusing it used to be! :)
There is a more complicated answer to this question, because I have heard about certain keys inherently having certain moods or flavors to them, but I think the simple answer is that guitarists like playing in E because that's a guitar's natural key (it's a variation of E). So if you play guitar in E, you have the largest palette of open strings and fretted notes. If you were to play in F# everything becomes a lot more complicated because you have to fret everything. That's why a lot of players use capos. It allows you to essentially change where the nut of the guitar is and use the E shapes for other keys. For piano I think playing in C also gives you the widest range of notes. Everyone always talks about "middle C." I could be wrong though, as I don't play piano.
Guitar players like to play in keys of the open strings - E, A D, G.
Sax and clarinet players like to play in Bb, Eb, F - all keys that have few "altered" note (akin o thte black keys on the piano.
But a singer will have a high or low voice, and in any given key, the melody of a particular song may go too high or too low in their vocal range, so they change the key to suit their range. Guitar players, piano layers, and everybody else, better have enough skill to adapt.
harmonica players? We hear the key announced, and just pick up the appropriate harp.
the mother key of blues is G, gospel is in C. sitar is in C (white light). bass sitar is in G (drupad,shiva,evil) blues in in sheerest evil form is in G the devils key.
To me, certain keys have certain moods associated with them. While certain keys are easier to play in on guitar than on the piano, I would say that the key of E does have a bluesy mood to it, much more so than F. Some keys also have more of a "bite" to them, like A and B. For instance, try rocking out in B, then switch to Bb and it just isn't the same. Bb is happy sounding, while B is more edgy. That's the best way I know how to describe it.
I believe Stevie Ray was famous for tuning down and playing in Eb and Ab, which both have a darker, more spiritual sound, as do other sharps and flats, which is probably why they are popular in certain styles of gospel music. It certainly isn't because they are easier to play in, especially on piano. Certain styles of gospel, like the blues or rock, are a lot about emotion and soul, thus key selection is a huge factor. I also believe that there are certain songs through the years that have become hits due in part to the key selection. Putting a song in the right key can often help the listener connect with it.
I try to make it a habit of playing in all 12 keys on the harmonica, and it bugs the life out of me to see these 6 or 7 key sets of harps without the sharps and flats because to omit these keys is to miss out on something really special as far as I'm concerned.
As a piano player, I love to play in F# and other "odd" piano keys. Using a transpose function on an electric piano is basically the same thing as using a capo on guitar. This allows me to easily make piano backing tracks in any key I choose.
The question is of course Todd, if it's something born into how the human ear works or if it's just years of subconscious ear training where you have heard certain types of music played mostly in certain keys. I'd say my B harp is bluesier sounding than my Bb, but my B is a SP20 and my Bb is a Lee Oskar. The B sounds bluesier, but I use the Bb more often, and it comes down to vocal range. In Bb I can comfortably sing most melodies either high or low. A half step either way and most melodies only work high OR low. I sing one of our tunes in B, in my upper register. It's as straight forward a blues song as you can get. ---------- Nate Facebook Thread Organizer (A list of all sorts of useful threads)
Good question.... it could have something to do with what we grow accustomed to hearing, though I still lean toward the side of feelings I get form certain keys.
This is how I can tell what key a song is in just by listening, or if you play a note on the piano I can tell you what it is. For me anyway, keys just strike a certain nerve with me. Hard to explain.
If you're speaking about a B harp, are you referring to 2nd position - F#? F# is a most peculiar key to me, and has the most unusual sound... can sound so happy, yet bluesy.... for example, put this same song in G and loses it's feeling. Know what I mean?
I'm a blues mandolinist and former fiddle player (long time ago). While I never played any blues on the fiddle, they are tuned the same, and were both popular instruments in the time of the rise of the blues.
With both instruments the 'open' position for blues is in the key of G.
I don't know how prevalent fiddle may have been at the time in the blossoming of the blues, but the mandolin was common among the jug bands that would also play the blues as it blossomed.
Personally, for playing blues on the harp, I love my G and A harps, so that puts me in playing in D and E. And while I love higher pitched music (what mandolinist doesn't?) I don't like higher pitched harps like the D.
Last Edited by on Feb 07, 2012 4:50 PM
Yeah, our pure blues number is 2nd position, with a B harp. We picked the key because I didn't want a ET harp for the song and I had ET's for most of my harps in that range (C, Bb, G, D) and wan't really happy with my other harps in that range (clunky old Blues Harps that tear my lips to shreds in A and Ab), so the guitar players capoed up. I suppose I could have gone up to Db (another SP20)
When I try to key a new song I listen for what instruments are playing. It doesn't always work, but a lot of musicians really do get stuck playing in their instruments natural key.
That Chapman tune is actually one we've talked about covering. It's one of my favorites by her. I like Fast Car too, but my favorite is For My Lover. I'm not sure how it would work as a male vocal though. I keep thinking we need some songs for a guest female vocalist sometime.
E, G, A and D are open fingerings on the guitar. Most of the early blues was played on guitars, so a lot of it was played in these keys, especially E, G and A. It's easier for a guitar player to use a slide in these keys, too.
In my experience, keyboard players prefer to play blues in Bb. Blues in C on a keyboard is NOT all white keys, but blues in Bb on a keyboard is mostly black keys.
Like Todd, I play all 12 harps. But I play a lot in 5th position which often uses the "odd keys". In 5th position, Ab=C minor, Db=F minor, Eb=G minor. As i see it, as a diatonic harp player my "instrument" is my performing set of 12 harps. Each requires a somewhat different breath attack, but a competent harmonica player should be able to adapt to that without much difficulty.
I also agree with Todd that each keys has a different"feel", and that certain tunes sound better in certain keys.
I only play ET harps. I do not understand the purpose of using an instrument that puts you out of tune with the band just so you can sound more in tune with yourself when you play chords. Seems sort of counterproductive musically if you are an ensemble player.
Classical music composers are very deliberate in what key their composition was in. I don't think they worried about whether it was easier for the instruments to play. They wanted to create a certain mood or feel.
billy shines- E.T. equal temperament. The note intervals are an equal distance apart. Do a forum search. You'll find plenty of info.
different keys different tones,but blues is always,1,b3,4,5,b7,1oct. this scale is the most natural happening in real life.the overtone series has b7,in first octive,called dominant7,then next oct. you get b5,than,b3 next oct. so when you`re playing the blues and impress on the flat 3,5&7 you are only bringing out the natural blues.since those notes are part of each note already,and when you can control notes too let harmonics sound over the original note you get some blusie tone.
I'm certainly not denying that cultural influences could have a part in how we perceive the relationship between key and mood, but I think it goes much deeper than that.
Regardless of culture or what country you're in, music is music, and I think it's hard to argue that music doesn't have a spiritual element. When an artist sits down to write a song, what is it that makes them choose a particular key over another? Sure, range has something to do with it, but what if 2 keys work equally well and for example, you're faced with a choice of C or C#? I don't think you're decision at that point would necessarily have to do with culture or what the typical key is for a particular style within a certain culture, but rather the mood or feeling you get in each key. Here is another example of a popular hit song in which I believe key selection was a huge factor in setting the mood:
This song is in Db(C#). Put it in C or D and it somehow loses its dark or emotional feeling, for lack of a better way to describe it. Would it have still had as much of an impact had she recorded it in C or D? Would it have still been a hit? Maybe... but I just don't think it would have struck the same nerve. Of course, again, this is just my opinion.
I remember when I first started playing music and all I had was a C harmonica. My next purchase was 3 Marine Bands in A, D and E. I remember how my first puff on the A harp made me feel... I did some chordal things and was like, "WOW!" It was like a whole new world opened up, and the same licks I'd been used to playing on the C took on a different feel with the A harp. Also, the E made feel happy and the D just rocked, and both quickly became favorites. So did the sharps and flats later on.
Prior to that, as a small child I remember my aunt always having these weird home organs with push buttons on the side with key labels. Basically, you could push a button and it would play the chord for you - I guess this was so you could have a reference when trying to play the actual chord on the organ. Even back then, I could distinguish different feelings or moods as I would push through these buttons. Kinda the same thing as when I would sit down at my mom's piano and rake across the white keys, then the black keys.
Bottom line is, music is truly amazing, and I refuse to limit myself to certain keys on the harmonica simply because it's easier for guitar players or piano players to play in them, or because it's popular to play the blues in E, etc. There is a joy in playing in all 12 keys, whether it be blues or whatever.
Last Edited by on Feb 08, 2012 9:11 AM
Tuckster, true, except classical musicians might not be the best example. During a long stretch of time tunings weren't consistent over the octaves. It was kind of like saying, 'Well, in this octave the regular scale is going to be a blues scale, but the key is going to a straight major scale.' (or at least this one is going to be Equal Tuned and this one will be Just Tuned).
You can argue over whether scales today have different sounds to them (besides just pitch) but they clearly did back in the day. In fact, Bach's 'Well Tempered Clavier' is actually referring to a specific tuning that the tune is supposed to be played in (which, because of modern tuning schemes, it almost never is.)
I can't imagine trying to wrap my head around music theory that involved all the modes AND different tunings across different parts of a piano.
The funny thing about music is the most important piece of musical education I ever got was a small section of Donald Duck in Mathmagic land. They explained how octaves and intervals worked on a stringed instrument to me at a young age and that cartoon still pops in my head when I try to think about tuning in my head. :)
Hey Nate, we do give me one reason in C (check out Junior Wells version........) and I switch between lo & straight F 2nd. Also check out Earl Thomas doin a dynamite male vocal delivery! ---------- One of Rubes's bands, DadsinSpace-MySpace
