Annoying Keys

[mick hearn]

Why oh why does my daughter insist on singing in sharp and flat keys, e.g. Eb. Whether I am on guitar or steel this is a very annoying key as I am missing out on some nice little open strings. I can move further up the neck using inversions I know but then the feel changes.

Buddy Emmons used to play some tunes in Eb but that was so he could do some open string hammer on's therefore making use of the key when playing C6. Four Five Time to name one.

Does anyone else have any problem with this?

[Will C]

Speaking personally, I find the beauty of the steel is that it doesn't matter a damn what key the song is in, it's equally easy (or difficult) to play because it's a just a pattern of movement, unless of course you go down far enough to meet the nut. It doesn't have the physical difficulty in holding the chords that you get with a six-string, for example.

I can see that the use of open strings, possibly in conjunction with bar hammer-ons etc, might be really neat with some keys, and not with others. As I lack the imagination to try that, it's not been a problem for me so far. It feels good when the band says "sorry, this one's in Eb" or something similar, and I just say "ok, no problem".

Maybe one day it will matter. For the moment, for me, ignorance is bliss!

[Ken Byng]

I generally play with a couple of bands, one of which has a lead vocalist who plays piano. He can play in standard country keys, C E A D G F but his vocal range naturally sits in the key of C# so he will do a number of songs in that key. Like you Mick, I play lead and steel guitar, and while I will agree that playing in sharp and flat keys doesn't present a massive problem on steel, it isn't great fun playing in those keys on lead guitar. I like the key of F# on up tempo numbers for pedal steel, as it is ideal for pull offs on frets 2 and 4.

It does pay to practise in sharp and flat keys, and get used to the relative chords of those keys.

[Donny Johnston]

De tune to Eb9.

[Danny Mitchell]

Excuse a possibly ignorant question , but would detuning not feck with the tension on your pedals and levers? Would have to reset them all?
Like I said, ignorant.

[Tony Smart]

A lot of brass and woodwind instruments are configured in Eb or Bb.
That's why a lot of sheet music is written in those keys.

[Zumbilly(Murdoch)]

I listened to a Lloyd Green talk tape about twenty odd Years ago and He said He preferred F# because the overtones sounded good to His ear.
We all know the chords which are normally played in any "regular" key and the relevant left hand positions and string combinations used.
One error I make is that if I am called to play in a sharp or flat key I tend to try to transpose the chords in My head eg, Key of C...Am..Dm ..F...G Playing in the new Key maybe G#. I find My brain trying to name the new chord instead of using the correct positions on a different fret.
This is where the Nashville numbers system is very handy and simplifies the pressure on My one cell brain.
I often wondered why,when playing along with recorded songs the singer is often one fret sharp.I have sometimes had to learn something from a singers recorded track and when the written list is in C the recording is in C# ?? On stage the singer was in C.
A mate who has done a lot of session work says it is often the case that the original recording is played faster and recorded for the final..
Maybe someone can chip in on this.

[Danny Mitchell]

A mate who has done a lot of session work says it is often the case that the original recording is played faster and recorded for the final..
Maybe someone can chip in on this.

I don't know about Country recording practices, but I do know that in the Pop field it was common practice to turn the varispeed up when cutting the masters and hence raising the pitch. 'More exciting', was the perceived opinion. More 'Mickey Mouse' was the reality.

[Haddock]

For guitar stuff, there's no disgrace in using a capo for nasty keys. Adds a whole new tone as well if you capo further up the neck than you need to and play a different inversion.

I agree the steel is bliss when transposing, though songs in E can be a bit annoying when you would like an open string. I just can't get the hang of lifting the bar without sounding like I've dropped something on the strings..... Some guys must be using superglue!

When I first took up 5 string banjo, I was shocked to learn that the favoured way to capo the 5th string is to hammer little nails into the fingerboard and hook the string on. The first time you are holding a hammer and looking at the word Gibson is quite stressful......

[mick hearn]

Great stuff lads - keep going.

I think part of my problems is familiarity as it certainly gets you thinking. I recently learnt the Joaquin Murphey solo for Panhandle Rag which is played if F. Hang on though - most of us play this in E, not that it matters of course but having learnt it I went to E and it was getting it into my brain and re learning it. To begin with after the intro I was immediately sliding to Bb instead of A. The old muscle memory was having a hay day. No problem now of course.

I think we all get so used to playing in the regular country keys and suddenly have to think when playing in sharps and flats.