The Roaring Twenties on Harmonica | Tin Pan Alley | Sweet Georgia Brown

I had a lot of fun tracing its history and playing it on my preferred harps for this song. Picking “the right key harmonica” for Sweet Georgia Brown is tricky, because it doesn’t get to the key of the tonic (F) until the 13th bar! It is a bluesy AND a jazzy tune. It sounds deceptively easy, but you have to understand the chord changes to solo on it convincingly.

Written in the Roaring Twenties in New York City by three diverse musicians, this hit song became a classic, recorded by everyone from Louis Armstrong to the Beatles. It is equally popular as an instrumental or a vocal tune.

The harmonicas I use in this video:
Hohner Marine Band with Special 20 reed coverplates customized by Joe Filisko (G & Bb)

"Howard & Jethro" album: https://levyland.com/music-jethro
Free backing track: https://levyland.com/teaching-videos-...

0:00 Intro and explanation
4:19 Sweet Georgia Brown on G harp
7:05 Sweet Georgia Brown on Bb harp
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