what do we think...

[Mr Nilsson]

... when the singer says "the song is in G" and some snotty guitarist
adds "thats a C harp" as if you are some kind of retard whos not good
enuff to play a "real" instrument?

[Fat Sam]

Post by Mr Nilsson
... when the singer says "the song is in G" and some snotty guitarist
adds "thats a C harp" as if you are some kind of retard whos not good
enuff to play a "real" instrument?

Just asy to him "Very good. Now what harmonica would I need if I was playing
it in 3rd position and/or 5th position?"
I guarantee he won't know.

[T-Bone Bruce]

Post by Fat Sam

Post by Mr Nilsson
... when the singer says "the song is in G" and some snotty guitarist
adds "thats a C harp" as if you are some kind of retard whos not good
enuff to play a "real" instrument?

Just asy to him "Very good. Now what harmonica would I need if I was playing
it in 3rd position and/or 5th position?"
I guarantee he won't know.

If I had a guitarist who even knew the 2nd position key then I'd
either be impressed, guess they might have played in a band with a
harp player a lot, or suspect that they were a fellow harp player too.
I wouldn't read much into it.

[Butcherknife]

Post by Mr Nilsson
... when the singer says "the song is in G" and some snotty guitarist
adds "thats a C harp" as if you are some kind of retard whos not good
enuff to play a "real" instrument?

just tell him and that would be a G chord on your guitar for the
one chord. C chord for the four chord and D chord for the five chord.
now that you know what the chords are maybe you can play this
some-bitch with out fucking it up.

[Robert Reynolds]

Post by Mr Nilsson
... when the singer says "the song is in G" and some snotty guitarist
adds "thats a C harp" as if you are some kind of retard whos not good
enuff to play a "real" instrument?

I've had quite a few guitar players try to tell me which harp to play,
and I've even had a few try to tell me what key to play in on my tenor
sax. I have let everybody in the local jam scene know that the only key
we need to talk about is the key the song is in.

Then there are the guys who persist in making comments about the "keys
that horn players hate", as if I can play sax only in F or Bb. How
silly is that? This isn't a jazz jam, and we aren't playing in F. I
understand that if I am playing with a blues band I have to play in
common blues keys.

Back to your original question, if anybody tells me which harp to use,
my current policy is to pretend I can't hear them.

[Mikel Lee]

Every band I've ever played with I usually ask the guitar player the
song key, not the lead singer. If any of them ellaborate what key I
should play in I usually just ignore them :-)

[Elmo' 7#9]

Post by Mikel Lee
Every band I've ever played with I usually ask the guitar player the
song key, not the lead singer. If any of them ellaborate what key I
should play in I usually just ignore them :-)

Need to stop asking the Drummer !!!

Elmo' 7#9

[John Agosta]

Post by Mr Nilsson
... when the singer says "the song is in G" and some snotty guitarist
adds "thats a C harp" as if you are some kind of retard whos not good
enuff to play a "real" instrument?

I say "thank you."

[David Raleigh Arnold]

Post by Mr Nilsson
... when the singer says "the song is in G" and some snotty guitarist
adds "thats a C harp" as if you are some kind of retard whos not good
enuff to play a "real" instrument?

If the song is 'Walk Right In' or 'Tuxedo Junction' it would be an
F harp to play in G. If it were "I'm Looking Over a Four..." it
would be a D harp to play in G. Maybe he knows what he's talking about
and maybe he doesn't. I think he's trying to impress other members
of the band, not you. Let it go. daveA

[Bill Otten]

I never got too upset about it, but it did happen a few times earlier in my
career. Sometimes I'd simply say "yeah, but I've been playin' a lot of
second position stuff already tonight, thought maybe I'd do this one in
first, or third" or something like that.

If it persists, pull out the chromatic. One good way is to learn guitar
too. Then you can close the harp case for a few songs, play guitar a few,
then switch back to harp. Most guitarists will show a bit of respect after
that. Besides, it also helps when someone doesn't call out a song key -- you
can look at the fretboard and tell what key the guitarist will be playing
in.

Finally, keep a set of diatonics to cover all the keys just in case someone
tries to pull the "let's do one in C#/Db" number on you.

bill