Re: [Harp-L] When guitar key and Harp key are not in sync



A Lee Oskar D Natural minor harp is tuned to play cross harp in D
natural minor.  The D harmonic minor is tuned to play straight harp in
D natural minor.  Unless you were playing both harps in those
positions, you were playing in two different keys and possibly neither
of them were Dm. Even if you are in the correct position, if you are
bending or overblowing, you may be playing notes outside of the scale
and therefore not sounding in key.

Just because your Bb harp sounded good does not mean he was in F.  You
can play in any key on a Bb harp and Dm is a key that lays out easily
on that harp.  Actually, the D natural minor scale and the F major
scale have exactly the same notes.

There are many ways to play minor.  I use 6 scales for playing in
minor.  There is theory to explain when to use which scale that
depends on which chords the rhythm players are using.  However, most
listeners are forgiving when it comes to minor.  Almost any minor
scale will sound acceptable over almost any minor chord progression.
However, sometimes that is not the case and you really want to match
your scale to the chords.  Just saying to a guitar player, "Play in D
minor" does not mean that the particular D minor scale you are using
will sound good.  If you were playing both harps in the correct
position producing both natural minor and harmonic minor scales, it
lessens the odds that you will sound good for the entire song because
one scale may sound good with the progression whereas the other may
not.

Of course, it is possible the guitarist was playing out of tune or out of key.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com

On Thu, Apr 28, 2011 at 4:46 AM, Venky Ramakrishna <jazzyvenky@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Once or twice a year I get surprises jamming with guitarists and since
> you do both so well- here's my question. The guitarist has gigged with
> Steve Guyger and Dennis Gruenling so many years yet could not do a Dm
> tune I called for. I was playing through a Lee Oskar Dm Nat minor and
> harmonic minor harp in the same key. The guitarist was playing
> acoustic guitar and had no capo on. But were not in sync. So I begged
> him to double check his tuning. He said he was in tune.
>
> Guess what I figured half way down that song- he was in F because my
> Bb harp worked so well. So how off was he or is it that Dm and Bb are
> related?
>
> Also, a second blues tune swing in E did not work with an A harp.
> Again a Bb harp saved the night. What position playing, if any, was I
> doing?
>
> Thanks
>
> Venky
>



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