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Forums :: General Discussion

key question

2 replies [Last post]
Mon, 06/26/2017 - 11:23
Monty Wheeler
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Joined: 03/09/2017

I'm sure y'all have been asked this a thousand times before and I'm sure my answer is here somewhere.

battling limited practice time so still working on lesson 1 and leaning the last choruses of the practice song but in breaking up my time I'm spending a few minutes relearning to the metronomea and tongue blocking technique a couple songs I'd learned kinda sorta prior to coming here.

my question. the tablature I have for song "leaning on the everlasting arms" starts on +8 and ends on +7. it sounds best to me played on my A or G harmonica but the beginnng notes are C# on the A or B on the G harp and ending on the note of the harp key

if I'm banging this song out on my G harp, and someone dare ask me, am i actually playing it in G or the key of the starting note?

and what easy wey is there to determing the tonic note of song?

 

thank you,

Monty Wheeler

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Mon, 06/26/2017 - 15:09
#1
Expert Winslow Yerxa
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Joined: 01/16/2010
The last note

The last note of a song, more often than not, is the tonic note. The starting note sometimes is, but not oten enough to rely on. 

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Tue, 06/27/2017 - 13:44
#2
bod
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Joined: 06/19/2016
key question

I'll venture out an answer beyond my range of music understanding, more knowledgeable people might contradict.

This song has some chord changing and also going from major to minor and back (from guitar tabs).

So there are more than one key involved.

Looking at the tabs, we find a majority of 7 blows (C on a C harp), 8 blows (E on a C harp) and some 6 blows (G on a C harp).

C,E,G lead a major triad in C on a C harp. So this might be the main key of the song. The many 8 draws are often between 7 blows and 8 blows as a transition note.

So my guess is that you play the song in the key of the harp you choose (they call it first position).

Cheers

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