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02-16-2008, 10:11 PM
|  | I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize! | | Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Ottawa, Canada | | | Guitarists and Bb
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What is it about guitarists and the key of B flat? Almost every genre has lots of songs in Bb, yet I have *never* played a song in Bb at any gig or at any jam. Most times they won't even admit the original is in Bb 
I don't play guitar, is Bb a particularly hard key?  |
02-16-2008, 10:27 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Long Island, NY | | We play some Chuck Berry tunes in Bb and some songs that are really in B but tuned down a half step are also played in Bb.
In these cases the guitar player call the key A# 
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02-16-2008, 10:40 PM
| | | | E & A = spam open chords and Zeppelin licks |
02-16-2008, 10:48 PM
| | I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize! | | Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Ottawa, Canada | | Quote:
Originally Posted by TeeMartin  E & A = spam open chords and Zeppelin licks | That's just it, these guys aren't limited to just E & A. We play a lot in C, D, G, and even sometimes F. The one band really likes B.
They just won't play in flat keys, or sharp keys in oldrocker's case  |
02-16-2008, 10:51 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: West Side SA | | | play with horn players |
02-16-2008, 10:59 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Houston, TX | | | I love the key of Bb, maybe because I started music as a euphonium player. (Brass instrument.) |
02-16-2008, 11:01 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Woodland Hills, California | | | In general, string players like sharp keys, horn players like flat keys.
Guitarists like keys that allow them to use open strings, especially if they play acoustic guitar.
Good guitarists don't care what key they play in, as long as the song (and singer) sound good in that range.
Last edited by smeet : 02-16-2008 at 11:03 PM.
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02-17-2008, 12:02 AM
| | I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize! | | Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Ottawa, Canada | | Quote:
Originally Posted by NJL play with horn players | I sometimes get to play with a sax player... we make him play in E 
In a previous life I played sax. I would love to play in a band with horns. |
02-17-2008, 12:03 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: West Side SA | | Quote:
Originally Posted by seanm I sometimes get to play with a sax player... we make him play in E
In a previous life I played sax. I would love to play in a band with horns. | Awesome!
My main axe was trumpet! I played with this one group and we played in more guitar keys than horn keys... it made me a lot better! I used to love to play in E. |
02-17-2008, 12:25 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Ventura County | | | Most bands play in Bb cause it's the easiest to play in for brass instruments
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02-17-2008, 03:52 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2005 Location: Loughborough, UK | | | Bb's no problem - the only one I find slightly awkward is Eb - but I use different inversions to get round that. |
02-17-2008, 04:12 AM
| | | Quote:
Originally Posted by smeet In general, string players like sharp keys, horn players like flat keys.
Guitarists like keys that allow them to use open strings, especially if they play acoustic guitar.
Good guitarists don't care what key they play in, as long as the song (and singer) sound good in that range. | well if the majority of manufactured horns were made in something other than Bb or Eb, we probably would like something else......BRING BACK THE C MELODY SAXOPHONES!!
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02-17-2008, 06:51 AM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Central Alabama | | Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffByrne Bb's no problem - the only one I find slightly awkward is Eb - but I use different inversions to get round that. | I'm not really crazy about Eb. No low Eb on a 4 string! |
02-17-2008, 07:03 AM
|  | <-- That guy looks like me, but old. | | Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Arlington TX | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by scorpionldr ......BRING BACK THE C MELODY SAXOPHONES!! |
I'm sure someone still makes them, but I've never seen one used on a gig.
Now that I think a bit I've only seen old ones (sorry 'vintage') in music stores. Maybe I'm wrong and nobody makes them anymore.
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02-17-2008, 02:41 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Provo, UT | | Quote:
Originally Posted by NJL Awesome!
My main axe was trumpet! I played with this one group and we played in more guitar keys than horn keys... it made me a lot better! I used to love to play in E. | I was playing trumpet in a funk band, and a lot of tunes were in concert E, trumpet F#.
surprisingly, I was able to get some hip solos in F#, which is prob. my least favorite key.
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02-17-2008, 02:44 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Staffordshire, England | | | Our guitarists will always tune up any song to minimum D. So any song originally playing in a key lower ends up being changed. Good job our singer is half decent! We cover Find the Real by Alter Bridge which is originally in c# (apparently.. it's standard tuning on a 5 string bass.. ) and they won't tune down... preferring to play it in drop D.... meaning that muggins here has to take 2 basses to practice with my 4 string tuned down to fit in as there's no way I'm tuning my 5 string up! Awkward..... |
02-17-2008, 03:36 PM
| | I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize! | | Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Ottawa, Canada | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Bard2dbone I'm sure someone still makes them, but I've never seen one used on a gig.
Now that I think a bit I've only seen old ones (sorry 'vintage') in music stores. Maybe I'm wrong and nobody makes them anymore. | Aquila makes one.... but the reviews are very mixed. Seems the quality control is bad. http://www.aquilasax.com/C-melody_Tenor.html |
02-17-2008, 08:48 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Provo, UT | | Quote:
Originally Posted by seanm | there's a reason why they don't make them any more.
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02-17-2008, 09:56 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: New York, NY | | | Half of everything I play at sessions is in Bb. |
02-17-2008, 10:02 PM
| | I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize! | | Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Ottawa, Canada | | This seems apropos:  | | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | | | | 
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