RE: Standardizing...Going to Spah etc

["Steve Shaw" <moorcot@xxxxxxx>]

From: "Robert Paparozzi" <chromboy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

    <<<< ....Regarding the Harmonica Standards and educational thread, I 
thought I'd weigh in as I've been reading with interest. I now have a little 
less than 40yrs. playing experience, as I started messin' around with this 
Tin Sandwich in 1965'. I don't for one minute regret where I am today on the 
instrument.

     But, what I DO regret is HOW I got there, I have to join in with WVBob 
and Paul Farmer and Prez Tate....... in that, waaaaaaaaay too much history, 
info and technique has gone undocumented in the past which translates into a 
'serious' waste of time when  new & intermediate players are trying to learn 
proper techniques in practicing etc.

       As a student of Harmonica in the 60's & 70's, I thirsted desperately 
for clues, tips or morsels of data that would make my journey at mastering 
this little beast a bit easier.
Were there any books, CD's videos out there to assist me?? VERY few!!
In the 60's I could only find (like many others of us) Tony Glovers-Blues 
Harp Handbook.

     Don't get me wrong, Tony did a brilliant job but was just covering one 
small area and genre on the Harmonica. Luckily, in the 70's Richard Hunter 
and Tommy Morgan & Cham-Ber Huang saw a need to help out and started to open 
up the terrain a bit with their publishing's.

Much Later to be assisted by Blackie Schackner, Phil Duncan, Jon Gindick, 
Doug Tate and Dave Barrett and Jerry Portnoy and Madcat.....and I thank 
everyone of them for taking the time to put their years of toil in to a 
substantive methodology in an effort to make learning a more pleasurable and 
less haphazard experience.

     In the 70's 80's and 90's Huang, Bonfiglio and Myself continued 
teaching at The Turtle Bay Music School in NYC. Along with Bob Shatkin, Adam 
Gussow and Bob Meehan down at the New School. Today, we are lucky to have 
Barrett & Gindick out on the road employing stellar player/instructors like 
: Iceman and Gruenling to Levy and Oskar etc.
Iceman doing the Augusta seminars as well as Filisko's  "teach ins".....we 
are in good hands..(even though much more is needed in Classical and 
Jazz)......BUT.....

   Bottom Line is we need "Standardization" NOT so we can SCORE or give out 
report cards, but to ADVANCE the instrument in an educational context. If we 
are going to teach the harmonica in Elem. School and than have a Harmonica 
Major in College, these are the building blocks.

     I'd love to see committees formed by masters in Classical, Jazz, Blues, 
Country & Bluegrass, OB Diatonic...etc....(hey, how about a Major in Jazz 
Harp and a minor in Altered Tunings or Bass Harmonica?) in an effort to 
produce study techniques for on the Diatonic, Chromatic, Bass & Chord 
similar to that which we already have for Trumpet or Flute, Violin 
etc............(These would be a another job for Spah  to tackle.)

     All this, does not detract from a player who has learned to play 
Harmonica by ear or by his/her own study methods. There will always be GREAT 
self-made players and bravo to that! But we must "raise the bar" in an 
effort to get writers, artists, arrangers and composers educated to what IS 
we exactly CAN do on this axe and THEN have competent players out there to 
get that job done!

     Yes, I Know, the Harmonica has done just fine all these years without 
all that 'classroom mumbo jumbo'. But now that we've been around 100+ 
(chromatic 80+) years, there are a myriad of styles, techniques etc. that 
have gone undocumented and this a 'positive' way to collate some of this 
beautiful music and knowledge into a format we can call our own in the 
context of History. It is by studying History that we are enlightened.

     Bottom Line is we need MORE players, when someone makes a decision that 
THEY want to play an instrument, having THIS kinda of ammo will allow us to 
take 'new recruits' before they choose the "French Horn" or "Guitar",-)))

    As Ken Wolman's post suggests, a few more teachers to study one on one 
with wouldn't hurt either.

     Well, sorry for rambling, my soap box and bandwidth are about to give 
out,-)

See some of you at SPAH and "wail on me brethren",!!
Harmonically,

Rob Paparozzi
Student>>>>>>

What a great post - positive, can-do, life-affirming, encouraging, 
spot-on....when I write my first novel about a struggling harp-player 
winning through, don't be surprised (and don't sue me, Rob) if bits of this 
post pop up!  And I love that last word!

Steve Shaw

Ps. We've just had Charlie Musselwhite playing two songs with Eric Bibb live 
on the telly about five minutes ago - phew!


Want more than the blues?  Try Irish!
http://mysite.freeserve.com/trad_irish_harmonica

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