Quote:

Well, for my daily injection of alleged humor, Irving Berlin wrote everything originally in the key of C because he didn't play using the black keys very well.

And HE wrote White Christmas, so.....



White Christmas - hmm, don't have the sheet music in front of me, but it sure seems like there's a lot more 1/2 steps in there than just B to C and E to F. He would have had to hit a black key now and then.

Until I started playing keys for a band that used horns, I did the same. Hands migrate to C. However, playing half-way decent B3 in flat keys is actually EASIER somewhat to me because of the way the voicings for I IV and V work with some of those flats thrown in. I got to the point where I almost enjoyed it!

Then I learned that a capo on the 3rd fret can also be my friend for playing in those same keys on guitar. Yeah, yeah, a real player doesn't need no stinking capo - heard it before. In my brain, the chord fingerings for the flat keys are even hard-wired now as to their open positions with the capo on the 3rd fret. I don't even really think about it. F=D, Bb=G, C=A, Eb=C, etc.

Once I learned that trick, I ended up wearing out the spring on my Kyser capo, I used that thing so much! Had to buy a new one.

-Scott

My Songs, photos, writing,etc.
My Sound Cloud