Key adjustment on Practice#
David Hi, I am making good progress with my LOA5 with the study song and solo sections well on track and enjoying it. With that I have moved to the Improvisation section. Following your suggestion I have harvested licks and V IV I turnarounds from study songs and selected my backing track. So I have a plan of attack. The challenge that I am having is when I hear or try to play the selected licks in a different key and tempo from the way I studied it I get a total blank. So my plan is to use Practice# the slowdowner program that I use and change the pitch and speed to meet my composition and then record it so as I can learn the licks at the new speed and pitch.
My question is (and I think I should know this but am stuck): By example my improvisation jam track is in Bb so if I take a lick from "Take it Easy" that was originally played on a C harp in second position G. Do I adjust Practice# back 1 1/2 steps from C to Bb(using the key of the harp) or do I move the pitch forward 11/2 steps from G to Bb (using the key of the second position on a C harp). Both options give me Bb but by just listening the first option sounds closest and the second clearly off key. Im opting for a change to the harp key as the correct option but I would appreciate your experienced answer and why I am hearing a differnt pitch with the two options.
Hope this makes sense and isn’t too left field.
David many thanks. I am finding even thinking through this process is educational. Not long ago, before I started LOA I would have thought it all as Greek so progress.
I understand, music theory is challenging!
David Hi
Practice# users may find this useful if not please delete.
It took me a little while to figure out the pitch change on the program. Pitch has a subtitle "Semi tone" but it didn’t ring a bell with me. The changes are displayed with a plus or minus and the adjustment is shown in whole number and fractions. I had originally thought that 1½ represented three semitones. That’s not the case. The whole number represents a semitone and the fractions are a fraction of a semitone. So 1 is a semitone, 3 is three semitones and 3½ is 3 semitones and a half a semitone (if such a thing exists). These fractions may represent different tunings I don’t know.
Thank you for the tip, much appreciated.
Hello John.
1) This sounds like a good plan.
2) Thinking in the key of the band (Bb and G) or harp (Eb and C) both work, just don't mix up the two. If you want to move your old study song (G) to match the new band key (Bb), then your song in G would need to be moved up a minor third (thee half steps) up to be in Bb. If you think in the harmonica key (C), then you do the same, move up a minor third to get to an Eb harmonica.