Re: instrument transfer
Posted by:
pharpy
(---.mob.bellsouth.net)
Date: September 19, 2005 01:32PM
In case you are wondering what I meant by my previous post, let me explain:
Trumpet music is written in the key of C, and you play based on that key, however, as I'm sure you know, the key of C on the trumpet is actually the key of Bb on the piano. When you play a harmonica that is in the key of C, the #4 blow is middle C, both on the harp and on the piano.
Harmonicas are not like other instruments, in that they actually correlate the notes being played to the matching note on the piano, no matter the key of the harp. Therefore, if you were to play sheet music for a Bb harp, the music would be written out in the key of Bb. Most other instruments are tuned to their own scale, which starts at C irregardless of the actual key of the instrument. Trumpets & Bb clarinets, for instance, are in the key of Bb when put to a piano, so in order to play in Bb with a piano, the trumpet has to play in C.
If harmonicas would be treated like other instruments, then the notes on a standard 10-hole diatonic would always be referred to as 1=LC, -1=LD, 2=LE, -2 & 3=G, -3=B, 4=C, -4=D, 5=E, -5=F, 6=HG, -6=HA, -7=HB, 7=HC, -8=HD, 8=HE, -9=HF, 9=HG, -10=HA, 10=2HC, irregardless of the actual key of the harmonica, and you would just know that to play in Bb, you needed to play in the key of C on a Bb harp or in the key of G (2nd position) on an Eb harp. (My definition of high and low (H & L) is based solely on the arrangements of the standard harmonica keys, with G being the lowest and F# being the highest.)
For those of us who don't quite have a solid grip on music theory, it's a good thing that harmonicas aren't treated like other instruments, because it'd take us too long to figure that out. (Took me almost 10 years from the time I started trying to learn & ultimately gave up on the Bb french horn.)