Keys, Chords & Form
by David Barrett
It might sound like a simple thing to figure out what key a song is in, but it
can be quite a daunting task for newer players. Figuring out what chords
are being played and the form of a song (12 bar blues or other) will
challenge the very best of players. This month we'll dig into this important
topic area.
Figuring Out the Key of a Song
There are multiple methods you can use to find the key of a song. For the moment, let's assume that
there's no harmonica part present in the song you're trying to figure out. For either method, our goal is to
find which note is the best sounding note among every other note that will be played.
Method #1 - Hunt & Peck
Grab every key of harmonica you have and lay them out in front of you. Order them in the following
manner.
G, A-flat, A, B-flat, B, C, D-flat, D, E-flat, E, F and F-sharp.
Start with your G harp (the lowest sounding common harmonica) and play the 2 draw. Why the 2 draw?
The majority of new players will play exclusively in second position. If you're using a G harmonica in
second position, you're playing in the key of D. The note D is found on the 2 draw. If it matches, you got
lucky and found that the song is in the key of D. If it doesn't match, then keep going through the list of
harmonicas until you find the harmonica where the 2 draw matches. Keep in mind that more than one of
these harmonicas will match. You're looking for the harmonica that is the best match.
Written below is a harmonica position chart. This chart tells you what key you're playing in for second
position.
Key of Song(Band)
C
B
B-flat
A
A-flat
G
F-sharp
F
E
E-flat
D
D-flat
Key of Harmonica Needed (Second Position)
F
E
E-flat
D
D-flat
C
B
B-flat
A
A-flat
G
F-sharp
Is it the Root Note or the Fifth?
If a song is in the key of C, the scale used is: C, D, E, F, G, A, B and C. The F harmonica played in second
position will place you in this key. While hunting for the correct harmonica to match this song (in the key
of C) you'll find that the C harmonica, playing the note G on the 2 draw, matches very well too. This is a
common error for students. The fifth scale degree (the G in this case) matches very well and can
commonly fool someone that it's the key of the song. The best thing to do is to play some second position
licks. If it sounds great, you picked the correct harmonica. If it sounds OK for some notes, but not othersor just sounds awkward, then you probably found the fifth of the key.
Method #2 - Chromatic Scale
Learn to play all the possible bent notes on the harmonica from the 4 draw down. There are twelve
possible notes used in music. Place these notes in order and you get what's called the Chromatic Scale
(a scale built entirely of half steps). This is notated below.
Just like the prior exercise, play each note of the chromatic scale until you find the note that is the best
match. The E-flat is not found on the lower end of the harmonica-it must be played two octaves higher on
the 8 blow half step bend. If you think that the key of a song is found on one of the bends, it's a good idea
to confirm it with the same note one octave higher (on a note that doesn't have to be bent). 2" (F) is
equal to the 5 (F). 3" (A) is equal to the 6 (A). The other bends don't have a non-bend equivalent.
Keep in mind that you could use a piano or a pitch pipe for this. This will make life easier, but it's really
good to acquire this skill on the harmonica. It's not uncommon to be on stage and not be told the key of a
song. This is where being able to figure out a key quickly on your own can be very valuable.
Method #3 - Match The Harmonica That's There
If there's a harmonica player in the song, they're giving you clues to what key harmonica they're using.
Does the harmonica sound really high in pitch? If yes, then they're probably using one of the higher-keyed
harmonicas. Does the harmonica sound really low in pitch? If yes, then they're probably using one of the
lower-keyed harmonicas. Listen carefully to the resolution note of their licks. When they hit the note that
sounds like it's ending a phrase--stop the music and try to match your 2 draw to it. Keep checking each
key of harmonica until you find the correct one. Play along with the harp player. If it matches for the most
part, then you picked the correct harp. If some of the notes match, but others don't, maybe you're in the
wrong position.
If a song is being played in First Position, the hole you want to match up to the song is the 1 blow. This
is the home base in first position. If a song is being played in Third Position, the hole you want to match
up to the song is the 1 draw. This is the home base in third position. Written below is a harmonica
position chart for all three positions.
Key of Song
C
B
B-flat
A
A-flat
G
F-sharp
F
E
E-flat
D
D-flat
Harmonica (1st Position) Harp (2nd Po) Harp (3rd Po)
C
F
B-flat
B
E
A
B-flat
E-flat
A-flat
A
D
G
A-flat
D-flat
F-sharp
G
C
F
F-sharp
B
E
F
B-flat
E-flat
E
A
D
E-flat
A-flat
D-flat
D
G
C
D-flat
F-sharp
B
If a harp player plays in a position other than second, it can be really tough for new players to hear what's
going on. Once you have played in First and Third Position for a while, you develop a sense of what these
licks sound like. Exploring 1st Position (MB99185BCD) and Exploring 3rd Position (MB99184BCD) are great
books for this. The Harmonica Masterclass website (www.harmonicamasterclass.com) also has a free
listing that tells you the harmonica and position used for specific songs and albums by blues artists.
Figuring Out Chords & Form
Not every song that you play will use the standard twelve bar blues progression. When these songs come
up you have two choices: One, wing it! Or two, figure out what's going on with the chords so that you can
better understand what will and won't match. The standard twelve bar blues progression is demonstrated
below.
Let's use the C harmonica in the key of G (second position) for our example. All seven chords in second
position are notated below. For the purpose of chord recognition we only need the basic three-note chord
(called a triad).
If we apply these chords to the twelve bar blues progression you get the following. Play along with the
supplied "12 Bar Jam Track In G."
Put Your Skills to the Test
Key
Let's now put your listening skills to the test. Listen to the supplied "Test Jam Track." First try to figure
out the key of the song.
Chords
After you have figured out the key, go to work trying to figure out the chords used in the song. Keep in
mind that the most common chords used are the I, IV and V chords. The second most common chords
used are the ii and vi chords.
Form
After you've figured out the chords you want to look at where the pattern repeats. In other words, how
long is the form? Is it a twelve bar blues, eight bar blues or other?
Answers
Key
The song is in the key of F. You'll need a B-flat harmonica played in second position to match. If you used
Method #2 to figure out the pitch, this would be a 2 draw whole step bend (2") or 5 draw.
Chords & Form
The chords used for this song are below. This is a common eight bar blues (Little Walter's "Key to the
Highway" is an example of this).
The skill to figure out chords becomes more and more important as you start to venture into other styles
of blues harmonica other than the classic Post War Chicago Blues. This is especially the case when playing
other styles of music that use more than the standard I, IV and V chords.
If you would like to go deeper into this study, take a look at my book Scales, Patterns & Bending Exercises
#2 (MB99112BCD).
About the Author
http://www.harmonicamasterclass.com/david.htm