wolfkristiansen
21 posts
Jul 21, 2010
8:42 AM
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A small issue, but a real one for any gigging harp player. When you're on stage, how do you quickly find the right key harp for the song coming up? I had to think about this early in my harmonica journey.
My first gig, more years ago than I'd like to think, was backing up strippers. We had the job because of an obscure bylaw in our town that said women could only take their clothes off for pay when accompanied by live, not recorded, music.
Our band was on a small riser on the stage hosting the "dancers". The spotlight was on them, not the band.
Sax players, guitar players, etc. don't have to switch instruments for each song. We do, except for the virtuostic overbenders. So, how to find the right key harp, in near darkness?
My solution-- each harp had its key clearly labelled by way of a big letter painted on the right side of its upper cover plate. The paint was actually nail polish. Red nail polish for the chrome cover plates, white nail polish for the black ones, i.e. Hohner Pro Harps. To help picture it, the nail polish was applied in the area of the numbers 6 to 10 on the top cover plate of the harp.
The harps sat in a cigar box, top plate up. If we played from a set list, I'd know ahead of time which harp to reach for. If we varied from the list, that's when it was useful to immediately reach for the right harp. The scheme also meant I always could bring it quickly to my mouth with the harp right side up; i.e. no playing a low note and getting a high pitched squeal instead.
Working out a reliable harp key system was important for me as part of the bigger issue of playing music for the public-- don't let them see any of the mechanics of music production-- no amp dial twiddling, no mic tests, no tuning, and, for us harp players, no fumbling for the key. We shouldn't show them the mundane mechanics of the music, just as a magician doesn't reveal the secrets of his tricks. I always aimed for the "magic", and still do.
Cheers,
wolf kristiansen
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Buddha
2277 posts
Jul 21, 2010
8:52 AM
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"how do you quickly find the right key harp for the song coming up?"
I have a solution for that which I can not detail right now, but you will be seeing it very soon!
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"All is bliss"
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bigd
181 posts
Jul 21, 2010
9:05 AM
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I use Dave Barrett's adhesive white paper key letters and apply some clear nail polish to keep them in place over time. The key letters fit well on the ends as my harps stand up in the case. Indeed I'll be waiting for Chris's solution too because such visual expediency is necessary on stage. The advantage of the white letter keys is they are easily discernible in any light on my Golden Melodys. d
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Myspace: dennis moriarty
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walterharp
419 posts
Jul 21, 2010
9:15 AM
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mine are in circle of 5ths in the case, so i know where they all are.. works great except that one time the bass vibration caused my case to crash to the floor during a show and i had to scramble around and get them back in the correct spots :-)
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The7thDave
145 posts
Jul 21, 2010
9:31 AM
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I use a system of small notches cut in the right end of each harp with a small, triangular file. The pattern of notches indicates the key, and the fact that they're on one end prevents you from inadvertently starting to play the harp upside-down.
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--Dave
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* BTMFH *
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Todd Parrott
147 posts
Jul 21, 2010
9:50 AM
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I use a different color comb for every key.
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HarpNinja
562 posts
Jul 21, 2010
10:01 AM
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Plus one on what Dennis says. I also order them in the circle of fifths starting with C.
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Mike
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Kingley
1330 posts
Jul 21, 2010
10:06 AM
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I just lay out the harmonicas I'm using in order of keys from low to high. G, Ab, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, E, F. It's easy to find what key I want that way.
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Paul "Kingley" Routledge
My YouTube Page
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Joe_L
473 posts
Jul 21, 2010
10:09 AM
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I take the labels off the Hohner box and stick it on the top cover plate on the high end of the harp. I place them in a box laid out the same way as Kingley.
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waltertore
781 posts
Jul 21, 2010
10:24 AM
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I keep them in my box in the same place. If I misplace one, no big deal. IMO people get way too uptight with keeping the dead time to zero. The old blues guys were all about dead time. The most common one you would see is we would do a set then get the legend up. We would announce him, he would walk up, plug in his guitar, come to the mic and realize his amp was not set up right. He would go fiddle with it until right, all the time we would just keep playing the beat. They would talk to the audience, and make the whole experience relaxed. If you are worried about losing your audience with any dead time between songs, you won't keep them no matter what you do. The whole performance art side of music is being lost with overly planned sets, no down time, etc. That is what cover rock bands were known for in my full time gigging days. Walter
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walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year.
" life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
2,000 of my songs
continuous streaming - 200 most current songs
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GermanHarpist
1644 posts
Jul 21, 2010
10:25 AM
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I always thought the best would be to stamp it on the coverplates... or somewhere on the comb.
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Hobostubs Ashlock
896 posts
Jul 21, 2010
10:37 AM
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wow you guess come up with some hard systems,I keep em in a cigar box,in there marked case that the factory puts on the boxes,plus my harps are factory marked,I just pick one up and look at it,I do have a larger gig case that has room for extra mics,my tool kit,5th of whiskey and my pain meds ect.where i keep a small flash light if its to dark to see the marked boxes.
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shanester
116 posts
Jul 21, 2010
1:17 PM
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I use the circle of fifths layout in the center of my case. That way if they call something like F#m I have no problem choosing the harp/position I want, even if I'm nervous.
Of course now I have it memorized!
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Drbeastie
8 posts
Jul 21, 2010
2:43 PM
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on the right hand end of the harp i cut a deep letter with or without flat using a dental drill the key letter is for the lowest harp g on the extreme left of the end
and for the highest i use (the f )is on the extreme right
I fill the engraving with tippex and store the harps out of the original cases with that end up in order from low to high. the engraving is almost like braille and you know by feel whether the harp is low or high. I hope this is of some use
e
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wolfkristiansen
22 posts
Jul 21, 2010
4:17 PM
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Forgot to add, in my original post, that I usually have a beer or three while I'm playing. That's one of the reasons I label my harps with big letters.
Combine bad stage lighting, old man's eyes and slight befuddlement from alcohol and one ends up with a real need for a simple, fail-safe way of grabbing the right harp at the right time. Peering at the little ends of the harps, or feeling them in braille-like fashion, would not do it for me. I see it works for some.
When I was slim, like Kudzurunner, I wore an old tuxedo vest that had four pockets, two at chest level, two below. Into those pockets went the most used harps C, D, G and A. That eliminated about half the the trips to the harp case (cigar box) sitting on my amp.
These days I sometimes jam at the Yale Hotel in Vancouver, here in the frozen North. If I'm lucky I sit in with the local bands on non-jam nights. Bluemoose knows the Yale.
Jams bring up another "key" issue-- relying on someone to tell you the key before the song starts. One of the regular Yale drummers (J.A. for you, bluemoose) tired of me shouting "What key, what key?" as he counted in the song. He dubbed me What Key Kristiansen.
Many players have the ears to determine the key (and the best harp position) at the commencement of a song. It's preferable, though, to have harp in hand before the first note of the song sounds. We've all seen harp players pick up one harp, put it down, pick up another, and finally settle on the right one. Picture a singer launching into a deep, meaningful blues while the audience is occupied with watching the harp player fumble about. Not good. It's best to be ready.
Cheers,
wolf kristiansen
*hope there's still room for deep, meaningful blues in Modern Blues Harmonica?
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bonedog569
26 posts
Jul 21, 2010
6:18 PM
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I've also used and like the red nail polish trick. With my harps up on end in the foam case now - I've gone to the Brother label maker stick ons on the edge, with a longer 3'd, 4th, 5th position key reference on the bottom cover plate.
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ness
263 posts
Jul 21, 2010
6:54 PM
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I've got them in alphabetical order. It helps that no one is waiting to hear me play.
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John
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DeakHarp
112 posts
Jul 21, 2010
9:17 PM
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I stick the sticker on the side of the box on MB right on the harp to the right on the top of the cover plate ... and keep all my harps in a 40 CD holder i got at walmart ... I lay them flat in the case A on top ... it is easy to find what key with that sticker on it .
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LittleJoeSamson
362 posts
Jul 21, 2010
11:23 PM
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Silver marker on front of comb, in key and intonation.
I know where things are by memory...most of the time.
Doing so much more with chromatic and 4th position now.
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ness
266 posts
Jul 22, 2010
7:23 AM
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Seydel sells some nice stickers for key labeling. They've got a nice little clear bubble over the letter that magnifies it somewhat. That also has some thickness, so you can feel it and know which way your harp is pointing. They seem to be very durable too. The adhesive is very sticky, but you can remove the stickers and even reuse them if needed. About $18 for a sheet of them though.
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John
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alleycatjoe
93 posts
Jul 22, 2010
8:59 AM
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where do you get dave barret harp labels, i went to his website and didnt see anything
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bigd
183 posts
Jul 22, 2010
10:16 AM
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Yea I couldn't find any of their previous products (case, cords, labels, etc) either. I guess it's no longer available. I- after reading this thread- purchased some from Seydel USA as they looked comparable if not superior although less quantitatively regarding multiple key letters. d
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Myspace: dennis moriarty
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hvyj
478 posts
Jul 22, 2010
10:17 AM
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Dave Barrett no longer is selling them on his website, but if you email him and ask he may still have some left. I like them and use them to label my harps.
On stage, I have my harps in a slotted case in order (not in circle of 5ths order, though) and I put each harp back in its slot when I'm done with it, so i stay organized.
Used to use a Cumberland Custom case w/slots, but lately I've been using a Seydel hard case which has slots, protects the harps better, and is very compact. Just unzip it, open it, pull the flaps back and my harps are all there in slots, in order and organized. The open case is compact enough to be put on top of an amp.
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harpdude61
276 posts
Jul 22, 2010
12:02 PM
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I've thought about how cool it might be to have a case with the harps organized in the circle of 5ths.
This is my idea.
A round case with 12 equal slots around the outside that holds a couple of harps each standing on end. Inside of that, each compartment is labeled with the harp key...in the circle of 5ths, inside that, a spinning dial with positions listed...so if the band leader calls key of G, rotate the dial to 1st position lining up with the G, 2nd position will line up with C, 3rd with F..etc.
Should be enough room left in the center for a mic and chord....removable top like a hat box (that big hinged lid on my Hohner case gets in the way sometimes). ...whoever manufactures this..I'll take 1/3 of the profits and be happy...lol
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Aussiesucker
655 posts
Jul 22, 2010
6:36 PM
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I use 2 methods ie to visually ID the key I print out key letters as large as needed on my computer, cut them and put them on harp ends, or wherever needed,using clear nail polish as both glue and sealant. Works ok ie I have even soaked plastc combs in detergent without dislodging the markers.
To distinguish which way up I put tiny self adhesive polyurethane bumpers on the right end of the harp as I look at it. The bumpers act as feelers to not put the harp in your mouth wrong way around in the dark. We recently got a new kitchen & the tradies who did our installation used these bumpers on cupboard drawers & doors. The bumpers are made by 3m. They left a sheet of them as spares which are now on my harps.
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