I’m in search of harp tabs for the 15 second harmonica piece that Sheryl does in her song, Real Gone, from the movie Cars. Can anyone point me to them?
3 Likes
Hi 
I looked up the guitar tabs for the song, and the harmonica solo was mentioned as being
BDE BDA x 4
and according to the Wikipedia article it was recorded in Bmajor
so using an A harmonica the tabs would be
-4 -5 6 -4 -5 7 repeated 4 times
there’s also a chance she is using a B harmonica in which case it would be
4 4(overblow) -5 4 4(o) 6(o)
or using my favourite key G (even though it’s probably too low)
5 6 -6 5 6 -8
This is just a guess though from my side. I’m sure someone with better ears than mine can come up with a better answer
(ETA it now just occurred to me that the harmonica part in the guitar tabs might have been chords for the guitar itself and not the actual harmonica, but knowing the song is recorded in Bmajor, I would play around with it, even though I don’t have an A or B harp yet, sorry!)
2 Likes
Vibe,
Thanks for the thoughts and ideas. I do believe the BDE BDA x4 noted on ultimate guitar chords are for guitar. You are right on, song is key of B. When I listen to the song it sounds like Sheryl is playing chords or double stops and not single hole notes. It’s a pretty short 15 sec harmonica piece. I’ll keep searching.
I hope you find them somewhere, or maybe by listening and trying to play along. I listened to the song and I could hear she was playing chords, but the harmonica also sounded a bit far away (or maybe it was the recording I heard)
Anyways, I hope you find them
1 Like
Hey @jpobey welcome to the forum! As per usual with Sheryl Crow great songwriting, great arrangement, great performances, great production - I’d always enjoyed the excerpt from this song when it played in Cars (which I’ve seen approximately 1 bajillion times) but I’d never listened to the whole song before right now! So thanks for this request.
So yeah the song is in B, and it’s played on an E harmonica in 2nd position. I’m doubtful that it’s Sheryl playing the harmonica (does anyone know if she plays?) I certainly could be wrong. Sadly, I could find no credits on the internet (shame on you, Disney!)
This is the solo in question:
It opens up on a “dirty” -4 (meaning it’s mostly -4 but there’s some -5 in there too!) In fact, the whole solo is pretty, or as you said it sounds like she’s playing chords. I’m gonna try and sorta write the more dominant note.
Also tons of fast hand wah’s in this solo.
Having said that, tabs would be like:
-4 -4’
-2 -34’-34 -34’-34 -34’-34
-2 -2(with fast hand wah)
-4 5 -5 (this line is all “dirty” so could also be written -45 56 -67)
5 -4 5 -4’-4 -4’-4 -4’4 (all dirty, end could be written -45’-45 -45’-45 -45’-45)
4 -2 4 -4’-4 4 -2
Like @vibe said, it kinda sounds far away, but that’s the basic idea. Good stuff!
Hope that helps! LMK if you have any questions.
Rock on,
Luke
3 Likes
Luke,
Can’t tell you how much I appreciate your awesome reply. Wow, was not expecting it. I’m really enjoying your online Beginner to Boss class too and am really pushing myself. You are an exceptional instructor. I can’t wait for that new Lee Oskar you are sending me to arrive.
Sheryl indeed plays harmonica in the original and I found a couple videos where she plays. When her new album, Live from the Ryman and More, came out August 13 she performed Real Gone live on
ABC GMA. She played harmonica! This video is Real Good too.
Can’t wait to get to practicing this. Thanks again!
Mahalo. Aloha.
Jay
3 Likes