Re: Those higher notes

[J Patrick Hester -- NY <ph@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Mike Curtis writes

> High notes can be challenging to make sound good, but once you master them,
> the audience LOVES it!  Keep working on it - you'll be glad you did!

Steve Price writes

>This is true, and I've never understood it.  Everytime I see a harp 

>player who takes really opportune moment to hit a high note with drama and 

>pizzazz the audiences go nuts, even the harp player has done incredible 

>and intricate stuff with a beautiful tone in the mid to low range, 

>which the audience doesn't acknowledge.  I've also seen really mediocre 

>harp players muddle through harp solos (no one on the present list) and 

>then blow an eardrum dammaging squeek that sends me into convulsions, but 

>sends the rest of the audience into frenetic applause.  I've done my 

>share of ear damage to well-intentioned audiences, but if anyone can 

>explain to me why blwoing a shatttering squeal is more entertaining than 

>all the other stuff I do, I'd appreciate it.  


Is it entertaining or is the audience screaming to drown it out?

OK, it IS entertaining. Maybe because people are sick of hearing 

same-ol' same-ol'  blues progressions. The really good fast high stuff
is usually not so bluesy as it is rocking. And people like to rock.
Plus it's like the music builds in intensity as the frequency climbs.
The atmosphere gets more and more tense and then there's this big
blast of high energy which cuts everyone loose.

Praise be to Popper for proving the harp ain't just for blues anymore.