Re: Keys
Posted by:
pharpy
(---.mob.bellsouth.net)
Date: December 10, 2005 12:54PM
DISCLAIMER: These are merely my views, and I fully realize that others may (and probably do) have a difference of opinion from mine. I am merely expressing my opinion about & reasons for not using the key indicator box.
I don't see a need for a key indicator on diatonic tabs at all, and here's why:
All standard tuned major diatonic harps have the exact same relative notes in the exact same positions:
_1__-1___2__-2___3__-3___4__-4___5__-5___6__-6__-7___7__-8___8__-9___9_-10__10
Do__Re__Mi__So__So__Ti__Do__Re__Mi__Fa__So__La__Ti__Do__Re__Mi__Fa__So__La__Do
Because of this, indicating a key on a diatonic harp tab is pointless, IMO. It might be more important to indicate what type of diatonic harp is used, for instance, whether or not the harp used to create the tab was a minor key harp, or possibly a custom tuning. Also, a position indicator might be more helpful than a true key indicator. That way, if we want to play the song with a group, we can tell them what key to play in based on what harp we have, or we can select the correct harp based on the key the group plays in.
As far as indicating tenor for the chromatics, well, I don't think that's got much of a point, either. While knowing what key the song is in makes more sense with a chromatic, the key of C is the key of C irregardless of whether or not you use a tenor or standard harp. Again, arguement could be made that key is pointless on this as well, because there are key of G based chromatics, and as long as the song is tabbed out correctly, the end result will be the same.