[Dixielandjazz] Lots of flats or sharps

[Don Robertson]

I have the problem in reverse.  I'm a fiddler who plays by ear, but all 
my ear training has been in sharp keys.  When I get into a jazz jam set, 
it becomes a challenge.  The tunes are in my head, but I have a hard 
time finding the notes on my fiddle.  I know !, practice scales in the 
flat keys.

Napa Don Robertson

Charlie Hull wrote:
> I think that players who have trouble with the sharp keys haven't 
> practiced or played enough in those keys to gain the familiarity and 
> confidence they have with the flat keys.
>
> My first gigs when I began playing back in my high school days were 
> country and western swing dances. The guitarists and fiddlers played a 
> lot in D, A and E to get the open string sounds. I played in those 
> keys so much that I've never had a problem with them. When I started 
> playing jazz I had to learn Ab and Db.
>
> I hear horn players say they can't improvise in sharp keys, yet they 
> have no problem with the standards that change to a sharp key in the 
> bridge.
>
> It's a good idea when learning a song to practice it in several keys, 
> especially if you frequently back singers or your band often raises 
> the key for the outchorus.
>
> Charlie Hull
>
>
> Ken Gates wrote:
>> As a closet clarinet player, I understand the awkward fingering of 
>> the scales
>> of keys with 5 or 6 sharps or flats.  Where is the difficulty of the 
>> trumpet
>> player in those keys?  The 3 fingers involved don't look difficult as 
>> I look at
>> a fingering chart---it surely must be awkward changes in lip/tongue etc
>> positions?  Is that it?
>>
>>
>>   
>
>
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