The recent arrival of the b-radical onto the forum brings this question into my head.
With the possibility of overblows that bend to the sky taken into consideration, what would your new favorite key be if you wanted one b-radical and only one for cost reasons?
Just a fun question for folks who overblow (or might start)and play chromatic runs, etc. I realize there are legitimate reasons to use the various positions but wanted to get some discussion going on this for the sake of folks who simply can't afford a set of b-radicals, but might scratch up enough to eventually buy one.
Think about the positions you use the most, musical styles you play, keys your band plays in the most...etc.
this could be fun and informative, don't you think?
I would get a C to learn all the scales and reading on as a reference, then branch out to a B-flat harmonica and an A. C is a great reference to learn the scales on, but the lower notes for lots of jazz tunes in the first octave are not there, so an A or B-flat maybe. Wow, it would be hard to choose just one.
A "B" could be good as it isn't too high in the high end, but a G seems to me, just by thinking, to be a good choice. You could easily play in G, D, A, E, F, and C. Those all seem like pretty good keys to play in, especially if you play blues. Bb, just by thinking about it, seems like a great harp if you'd do jazz, considering you'd easily play Bb, F, C, Eb, and Bb. F, C, Eb, and Bb are EXTREMELY common keys, and in Jazz F, Eb, and Bb I know are quite common. Plus, the four draw isn't so low that it makes it hard to overblow.
iv seen howard play all 12 keys on a C harp so i would have to pick that. unless of course that is possible on all harps? i dont know. if so then id stick with Bb. ----------
Jon, it is possible on ALL harps, it's just that some keys will be easier because of positions and their natural tonality (meaning major or minor). C would be difficult to play Eb because the root is the 1 overblow, which in my opinion is an important key. Bb and C seem to be the best choices, or maybe a G.
I was thinking G as well, for the same reason as Zack. I also play in a church praise team and the key of Em seems to come up a lot...4th position works great.
The overblows would really round it out it seems to me. Still, I love my A marine band, and my C, and my D...crap. Not sure this is possible...lol.
If I were to play any position and overbend like mad, I would go for a middle range, just because the sound consistence is better IMO : Bb, C, or even D.
Sare makes a good point, a G, custom or not, will be tougher to overblow the 4 and, the one hole, will probably be a big issue IF you need it. But the overdraws would sound better. I think having only one doesn't work, TWO would work. Of course, I can't afford two if I was buying any but I'd say get a G and a Bb or C.
Wow. that would be tough. I change favorite keys a lot, but it's usually either A or Bb most often. Sometimes G. Rarely C or higher (but sometimes I like a D). At the moment I'd probably go with an A, but that's only because my newest harp is an A, and it's a great harp, and I've been playing it a lot lately. ---------- ------------------ The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
If I could only have one key I'd take a chromatic, but just to be weird, I'd make sure it was labeled in German in the key of H.
Would a double sided harp count? I like C and G. Could I get a complete set of custom Pucks? That would be small.
If you are talking about an airplane crash on an island scenario and weight is a big concern I bet a 12 pack of Pucks would be pretty light.
If it's a matter of cost I'd rather have a pack of cheap different keys than just one expensive harp.
I can't even answer what my favorite key is. Right now, the three keys I'm most likely to pick up are LLF, D and C, but that's largely because those are the harps I have that are the best performing combined with still being easy on my lips. (Seydel Blues Favorite in LLF, a Lee Oskar and a Pocket Pal and a Frankenharp in C, and of all things a Piedmont in D.)
If you can only afford one, personally I think it's kind of silly to think of it in terms of "if I could only play one key harp, what key would it be?" Because your never going to just be playing one harp(unless you're Otavio Castro). The way I tend to think of it is, if I can only afford to get one custom harp at a time, I want to get one of the keys that normally gives me the most trouble when I'm playing a stock model, as well as one I know I'll get a lot of use out of.
Personally I tend to dislike (stock) lowkeys because the bending on the low end requires a lot more work and air. I really hate when I've spent a lot of time playing on a D harp and then have to switch to playing a G harp. It feels like it takes so much air/work to get the low end bends. But with a custom harp all those low bends become so much easier and it feels like I'm playing a higher keyed harp. There's not as big of of a contrast when switching between harps. So if I had to choose just one or two custom harps I'd choose a G or A, because I know those are the keys where the custom work would do the most good. And I know I'd get a lot of use out of those keys.
My band plays mostly in G, E, A, D, C, B, Em, Gm,and F..in order of how many songs/key.
I find myself using some high harps and some low, just to keep things fresh. I play mostly in 2nd, 1st, 3rd, 4th..again in order of how often. Overblows on hole 6 are used frequently playing out live, but no others seem to pop put in real life at the moment.
I'm concerned that an investment that high in ANY key might spoil me on my stock harps and trigger a GAS attack that could easily cost me over $1000! LOL...please continue.
"It is impossible to defeat the purpose of this exercise..."-Congaron
That sounds like a challenge...
I choose this harmonica to be stranded on an island with. I can play in any key and cudgel coconuts open with it, yet it's not as encumbering as a giant chord harmonica.
I often think about this when purchasing a new harp i want to try. I think...if im gong to spend $80 on this...i don't want it to be a key i hardly ever use, like F. I always end up getting an A, Bb or C.
I feel better with Bb harp. If I have to choose the only, I'd prefer Bb as 10 hole is not as squeeky as on C and 1-st hole is not as hard to overbend as A. I'm asked Michael to send me b-radical that I win in Bb too. ---------- http://myspace.com/harmonicaboris
I'm in the same boat. I need to spend about about a grand on music equipment right now, but my wife also needs a new catalitic converter for her car. Can't have both. So, if I could only buy one fancy pants harp, what key would I choose? I'm not sure. But here is what I would consider.
1) Buy a key that you have a history of blowing out. The b-rads have replaceable reeds, so its a good choice. For me, the key is D. I blew one out (while I was still getting a grip on the basics) and my current one is starting to get out of tune.
2) Buy a key that is compatible with the keys you like to sing in.
3) Low and high harps a little harder to play (in my humble opinions. If you are going to get just one nice harp, get one that is high or low, so that you have the best possible quality in the difficult key.
I do about 90% of my songs in E, so I buy lots of A harps. The key of E on the guitar is the most powerful IMO because you are way low on the neck(deepest tones) and can utilize lots of open strings when playing. Oh, it is also the easiest key to play guitar in for me too :-) Walter ---------- 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.
good point walter! I play mostly in A or E on the guitar for the same reasons. E is so easy to find when you want to jump an octave...two nice dot markers!
Interesting nobody pointed this out yet. I don't care whether you play diatonic with overblows or chromatic - even if you can hit any note in the chromatic scale, the key of the harp still makes a difference - unless, of course, you think music consisting entirely of single notes is sufficient.
Even chromatic players have harps in multiple keys. Why?
BECAUSE CHORDS MATTER!!
And even our Gods Jason, Chris, Adam and Howard can't play a Db7 chord on a C harp. ---------- /Greg
"unless, of course, you think music consisting entirely of single notes is sufficient."
Yeah, I have no idea what those people who play saxophone, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, flute, french horn, oboe, basoon(etc.) are thinking. Clearly inferior instruments : )
