HandicappedHarpist
30 posts
May 09, 2019
1:41 PM
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Okay, so I have found a website that can provide me the key of virtually any song I want. All I have to do is upload an MP3 to the site.
But what if I am not anywhere near my computer? Many times, I have heard a song and wondered what key it is in. Are any of you guys able to detect a key's song just from hearing it? If so, does that ability just come from being around music all the time? Or is there some trick here that can be learned?
HH
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The Iceman
3845 posts
May 09, 2019
2:17 PM
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"Are any of you guys able to detect a key's song just from hearing it? "
Yes
"If so, does that ability just come from being around music all the time? Or is there some trick here that can be learned?"
The ability comes from learning how to listen. Being around music all the time definitely helps, but aren't you around music all the time? Radio in the car, stereo at home, MUZAK in the grocery store, movies and tv, etc?
One can also learn perfect pitch through courses.
Not something that has a quick trick....and those that don't believe it can be learned will self fulfill that prophecy.
To help me start, very early on, I went to a piano and found the note that matched the lowest note I could sing. Then, I used that personal reference to self determine the pitches that I heard. It was a rough estimate, but it got me on the path of learning to listen.
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The Iceman
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snowman
452 posts
May 09, 2019
2:31 PM
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I play guitar so its easier for me but
I hear a blues song
I grab my A harp and blow hole 1 [the A note] across all chord changes.
if blow 1 sounds ok----it may be in "A"
after awhile u get it. if it sounds bad, keep grabbing harps--blow hole 1 [which is the same note as the key the harps in]---some will sound bad etc
anoher trick - if u cant tell by listening if its minor or major [VERY IMPORTANT]---but u know the key is right ie Key A
start with draw 1 [sounds ok]---
draw 2 [sounds ok]
draw 3 [sounds terrible]
if its minor ----straight 3 draw will sound terrible
if when u bend draw 3 1st bend [it sounds good] its minor
Last Edited by snowman on May 09, 2019 2:34 PM
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STME58
2080 posts
May 10, 2019
11:29 AM
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I listen until I have the tonic in my head, then sing the tonic into a tuner and get the key. I have a tuner with a remote pickup intended for clipping to the bell of a brass instrument that works really well for this if I hold the pickup in my hand.
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jbone
2921 posts
May 10, 2019
12:27 PM
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You could go old school and keep trying harps until you find the right one. And- if you are on stage say at a jam, you can usually ask the bass player for the root key.
Eventually I developed an ear and mostly get it right. If I am calling off the key of course I know what harp I'm using.
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Music and travel destroy prejudice.
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nowmon
209 posts
May 10, 2019
12:57 PM
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Listen to the chord changes,Then learn the root chord bass note, than hum that note in to a KORG,ca,IT WILL SHOW THE ROOT NOTE FOR 1 CHORD....
Works for me...Sol feggio, is learning the concert pitch scale. most classic players can hum a note and know what it is....
Last Edited by nowmon on May 16, 2019 8:15 AM
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nacoran
10114 posts
May 10, 2019
1:04 PM
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Once you have the root of the song in your head (often the note the song starts on, almost always the note the song ends on, the Do in Do re mi) you just find it on a harmonica, or on a tuner, or pitch pipe.
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Nate
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First Post- May 8, 2009
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HandicappedHarpist
31 posts
May 11, 2019
12:27 AM
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Sounds like it's all just learned through experience. As an amateur who doesn't anticipate ever playing full-time, perhaps I'll never get there. But that's okay. Nice thing is that I've got the website I can use when I want to. When I play at church, the key is always given. And when I jam with my friends, they know what key they're in.
Thanks for the input.
HH
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LSC
800 posts
May 12, 2019
10:10 AM
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It is fundamentally a skill learned through experience but even then one can struggle sometimes. At jams the key should always be called by the singer or whoever is leading that particular song. When in doubt just ask the guy next to you.....unless it's the drummer who may just answer "Ludwig" and hold up a small T shaped tool.
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LSC
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BnT
243 posts
May 15, 2019
1:36 PM
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Guess I'm old school. Listen, try harps, and write it down. That third step is important to me. Too many songs to try to remember them all.
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BnT
www.BluesWithAFeelin.com
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Joe_L
2870 posts
May 16, 2019
10:25 AM
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Someone once told me, it's always in A, unless it isn't.
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groyster1
3375 posts
May 29, 2019
3:45 PM
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Im about to go to blues jam...….I need to ask what key for every song...….I keep A,Bb,C,D,F and G harps with me
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sharpharp
55 posts
May 29, 2019
5:30 PM
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I always used to struggle at a noisy jam session in a noisy bar,at home don't worry pick up any harp and see what you get,then pick up a different harp and try out lots of positions that way.
Playing first position with a g harp is a favourite of mine because you still get a lot of depth with the high notes and the benefit of those very low notes and the scales normal used on a c harp using bends on draw 2/3 are natural notes without bends in the middle of the harp.
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