Wrong Key!

J D Sauser · From: Wellington, Florida

Actually, depending HOW "wrong" one is, it's at times astonishing how far some "wrong"-keys can seem to work, until the chords just take a different path and the train "hits a wall"!

... J-D.
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Was it JFK who said: Ask Not What TAB Can Do For You - Rather Ask Yourself "What Would B.B. King Do?"

A Little Mental Health Warning:

Tablature KILLS SKILLS.
The uses of Tablature is addictive and has been linked to reduced musical fertility.
Those who produce Tablature did never use it.

I say it humorously, but I mean it.

Richard Alderson · From: Illinois, USA

How about when the band plays the right key for 2 measures and the singer plays the wrong key on his rhythm guitar for 2 measures and has to sort of morph into the right key..... does that count?
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Roddy Ring · From: Alexandria, Virginia, USA

Recording a song way back, me on bass, we decided we'd give it a ska feel where it had been straight rock beat for a long time. the drummer was having a hard time getting his intro right. On the tenth take or so, when he finally nailed it, I was so distracted by his success that I lit into my bassline a half step sharp. everyone jeered, bottles were thrown and the abbreviated take was saved and played periodically for my renewed embarrassment.
Second story, at the Opry. The woman currently doing the Patsy shows in town took to the Opry stage to do "Crazy." The pianist hit the intro in the wrong key and quickly dropped out within a couple notes when he realized his error. She turned to him and said "B-flat" loudly enough that I could hear her in the balcony. Whenever, someone hits a bad note in rehearsal, someone will inevitably say "B flat."

Clyde Mattocks · From: Kinston, North Carolina, USA

"Oh, I do that one in D now, it just got too high for me in E. This just after you've delivered a letter perfect intro to "I Never Go Around Mirrors" and everything has come to a FUBAR. You're sitting in with a band that has used the same set list for five years and not made any corrections.

In another instance, the front man says, "Here's a good ol' Merle Haggard song. You look down at the set list and it says, "Working Man" in D ???? The guitar man launches into an intro that sounds vaguely familiar but it ain't "Working Man Blues" and turns to you to take the next line. If you're fast and if you're lucky (to quote Doolin Dalton) you recognize "A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today"

Finally, I used to work with a singer that didn't use a set list. He just called songs on the fly. Trouble is he didn't know the titles to any of his songs. He'd say "Let's do that Faron Young song" or "Let's do the indian song."
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Pat Moore · From: Virginia USA

Samuel Phillippe · From: Douglas Michigan, USA

Bill Duncan · From: Lenoir, North Carolina, USA

Many years ago while playing the "I am A Pilgram" instrumental for the offering collection, the guitar picker veered into "Nine Pound Hammer" for his break. The preacher who was also a picker asked us what we were playing.

Pat Moore · From: Virginia USA

Craig A Davidson · From: Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin USA

I worked with a band around 2001 that did a show with Jeannie C Riley and Rusty Adams. I started Harper Valley in C which was our gal singer's key instead of A which was Jeannie's. Bless her heart she tried to get it but after a few bars we had to stop and get in the right key.
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Matthew Walton · From: Fort Worth, Texas

One time when playing at a wine bar, shortly after switching from paper binder to iPad, I did the Beatles song Don't Let Me Down, which for vocal range reasons, I do in A, and the chords on my paper version are printed as such.

Best I can figure, I transcribed the chords in E, saved, transposed to A, printed, and quit without saving.

Using my fancy new iPad, I played the opening E chord, played the riff in A (muscle memory) which set me up to sing in A, and continued to play the chords in E. Shocked

I think it took me the first chorus and verse to figure out what was going on!

Weirdly, singing in A and playing in E almost works! On the first chord (2-), I'm singing B > A > F#, playing against an F#- chord. But when it goes to the second chord (1), I'm singing A > F# > E against an E chord. And let me tell you, belting an add11 just doesn't really resolve to the tonic in a satisfying way.
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Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

Chris Sattler · From: Hunter Valley, Australia

One girl would always play in G and just move the capo on her guitar. Absolutely no point in asking her what key was the song in. The answer was always G. In the end I just asked what fret did she have the capo on.

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

Len Ryder · From: Penticton B.C.

We got into the habit of using names C= Charlie. Bflat= Bravo-flat, E=Echo. Worked every time.

Don R Brown · From: Rochester, New York, USA

I can imagine the confusion in Canada - someone asks the key and somebody else answers "It's in G, eh?"
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Many play better than I do. Nobody has more fun.

Robert B Murphy · From: Mountain View, Arkansas, USA

Or an Arkansan will say: "It's in Aaaaaaaaef."
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Bob, small o.

Robert Ellis · From: Texas, USA

Will Van Horn used to intentionally kick the tunes in the wrong key, or talk to the rest of the band and plan a cold modulation up for verse two. Was a wonderful exercise in “flying by the seat of my pants” as a singer and I will be grateful for a lifetime.

I like the sound of playing my licks correctly, but a minor third up from the rest of the band.
Xoxoxox

Bobby D. Jones · From: West Virginia, USA

Back in the 1960's, A friend of mine used to go to Nashville and play steel some.

Years ago he told me a story about Shot Jackson having some Sho-Bud fret boards that was not to scale. At the Opry, He would sneak around and lay the fret board on some players Sho-Bud steel. Knowing the first song on stage would be kicked off by the steel. When the steel player kicked the song off and the band came in, The steel player would have to slide 1/2 inch or so up the neck to be with the band.
Shot Jackson would be back stage laughing so hard, He would have to hang on to something, Laughing about the confusion he caused.
The rest of the story was Roy Acuff would not be a happy camper.

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

What a jerk.

Dylan Ritter · From: North Carolina, USA

I play with some friends in France, old country stuff.
The singer/guitar player usually chooses to speak with me in english. He calls out the key for most songs. I noticed early that every time he would call for the key of C it was when he was starting with a G chord and capo on the 4th. I always corrected him out loud,"B!",figuring he didnt do the math right, and it became a running joke, i could rib him on it occasionally. Finally one night on stage it suddenly became clear he had been calling out "Si" all along, He was never wrong, joke's on me. (I guess that's exactly why in Quebec we were taught "Ti" instead).
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Bob Cox · From: Buckeye State

When I was playing at the southern Ohio Opry sometimes a singer would tell the lead man a different key than she told you or vise versa. After a while I learned to know the ones that would be hard to kick a song for and just vamped them a start key.

John De Maille · From: On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.

Back in the old days I worked for a leader who had a habit of showcasing known or semi known singers. Some knew their keys, but, most did not. It wound up being the hunt and peck effort.
However, I play in two different bands, that, play some of the same songs in different keys. It can get confusing and I have made a mistake once in a while. I usually make a joke about it as they do, luckily. Set lists with the KEYS do make a difference though.

Jason Stillwell · From: Caddo, OK, USA

I was trying to kick off Panhandle Rag on the spot. My dad (on fiddle) said, "It's in E." I said, "I know what key it's in. I just don't know what key I'M in!" Laughing

Clyde Mattocks · From: Kinston, North Carolina, USA

This past Saturday night, the guitar player blew an intro big time. He turned to me and said, "Sometimes I play in tongues."
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Roy McKinney · From: Ontario, OR

Did it last night at an Eagles Dance....I stopped and blamed the drummer for being in the wrong key. Got it right the second time.

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