[Dixielandjazz] Sharps and Flats and Hauf a Coo (continued)

[Ken Mathieson]

Hi All,

I wrote:  Another couple of local expressions you're likely to hear are "It's in C for Seagull" or "it's in G for Jesus" and Bob Ringwald wrote: here in the States, the key of F is often referred to as "The key of love."

I forgot about F. I used to play in a band where F was called S - as in " 'S'neff." They also used the tempo instruction of "AFAF" which stood for "As Fast As ..." If a piece were taken up a notch or two it might be "FTF", which stood for "Faster Than..."  Then, reserved for tempos above 280 bpm, came "OFFS" which stood for "Oh For ..... Sake!"  So you could get the bandleader instructing the guys by spelling out "S-O-F-F-S." We knew what he meant, but God help the Deps (Subs to our US listmates).

Cheers,

Ken Mathieson